A Leap Into Destiny
by Deep Metal
Summary: Post-Mirror Image. After years of leaping about through time, Sam Beckett finds himself faced with his greatest enemy and his final destiny. Will he endure and make the necessary sacrifices for those he loves... or be lost forever in the sands of time?
1. Hostage Crisis

**A Leap Into Destiny**

Disclaimer: Donald Bellisario and NBC own Quantum Leap.

_Hostage Crisis_

For as many years as he could remember, Sam Beckett had leaped about through time and space, setting right what once went wrong.

It all started that one fateful day when he made himself the experimental guinea pig in Project Quantum Leap, testing his theories on time travel, and more specifically, the String Theory. The project had turned out to be more of a success than he anticipated. His body was sent hurtling through time and with it, he experienced acute memory loss which was slowly restored to him thanks to the efforts of his best friend, Al.

He had journeyed through the landscape of America and a few other countries, engaging in countless missions to help those in need. Along the way, he had encountered mobsters, priests, single mothers, biker gangs, and Confederate generals. And he had, on occasion, even become some of those people during his leaps.

Three years had passed since one of the most important leaps he had ever made, the leap where he saved the marriage of his best friend, Al Calavicci. Now, however, he was in a situation he hadn't been in before. As the blue aura faded away, Sam Beckett stood before a museum in police uniform.

"Sir, what do we do now?" another police officer asked him.

"I, uh…" Sam was confused.

"This hostage crisis, it's gotta end somehow," the officer went on, thankfully providing more details and sparing Sam any potential embarrassment.

"Right," Sam tried to state authoritatively. "We have to get in there and get those people out."

"Good thing I caught up with you just in time," a voice behind Sam startled him.

"Al!" Sam turned around to the sight of the familiar and welcome sight of the holographic image.

"Al?" the fellow officer asked.

"I meant 'ow,'" Sam replied. "I think I tweaked a muscle earlier. It's gotten really sore."

"Your name is Officer Joe Cassidy," Al informed the Leaper. "And this is May 16, 1987 in Denver, Colorado. You're in the middle of a hostage crisis. The guy inside's got an entire class of children in there. What goes down eventually isn't going to be pretty."

"Then I gotta stop it somehow," Sam whispered.

"Hey Joe," another officer came up. "Frank wants to speak to you!"

"Frank?" Sam was confused.

"The one in there holding those kids hostages," the second officer looked at Sam with a funny look. "Are you feeling alright? You're not spacing out on us or anything, are you?"

"No, no," Sam shook his head. "It's just that it's been a long day and my head's a little woozy, that's all."

With that, Sam began walking away.

"Uh sir," the officer called after him, "the phone booth is to your left."

"Right… right," Sam turned around as quickly as he could.

"Frank Schaeffer," Al walked alongside Sam as he headed to the phone booth, "the man's a real nutjob. From the files we have on him, he's a real career criminal, always getting into trouble for robbery, theft, kidnapping, and assault. Unfortunately, this is the day he's going to add murder to that list."

"And with children no less," Sam said in disgust.

Walking into the phone booth, Sam picked up the phone.

"This is Officer Cassidy," he said.

"I was hoping you'd answer," the voice on the other side sent a chill down Sam's spine. "I was almost getting tired of waiting."

"What is it you want?" demanded Sam.

"The hostage money I wanted, is it coming or not?" Frank demanded.

"Hostage money isn't going to buy the freedom of those kids," Al informed Sam. "He'll take the money and leave behind a trail of bodies."

Sam held the phone away from his mouth and turned to Al in desperation.

"What do I say?" he asked frantically.

"Tell him the money is coming in ten minutes," Al replied.

"The money will arrive soon," Sam told Frank Schaeffer. "Give it ten minutes."

"Gee, I don't know if I can wait ten minutes," the man replied.

"Please," Sam beseeched. "You're getting what you want, aren't you?"

"Well, I suppose I am," Frank smiled on the other side of the line.

"Now if you don't mind, let's discuss the release of the hostages," Sam requested.

"Very well," Frank Schaffer acquiesced. "I'll tell you what. I'm going to release some of these kids."

"Some?" asked Sam.

"I'll be keeping a few others with me as bargaining chips," Schaeffer said calmly. "Now listen carefully, place the money at the front of the museum. Once it's there, I'll take the money and let some of those kids go."

"And then?" Sam demanded.

"Then I take off in my getaway car behind the museum with the remaining children," Frank was unphased by the edge in Sam's voice. "But don't worry, there's a gas station five blocks down. You are not to pursue me for the first five minutes. After that, you will find the rest of the children safe and sound at the station of Fish Street."

"Alright," promised Sam. "We'll do as you say."

"Good, don't disappoint me," Frank hung up.

"Al, what's going to happen exactly?" Sam turned to the holographic projection.

Al Calavicci dialed a few buttons on the handheld device he had before coming up with a correct projection.

"It ain't good, Sam," answered Al. "Unfortunately, along the way, those four kids don't make it out alive. Their bodies are dumped at the gas station where Frank said they would be."

"Then even if we give him what he wants, he'll still spill blood," Sam bit down on his teeth angrily.

"I'm going to go check the perimeters of the museum," Al promised. "Then I'll go inside to see the status of those kids. There may be a way inside. Ziggy is telling me there's an eighty nine percent chance that you're here to go inside that museum and rescue those kids. You hang tight and I'll be right back with the info."

"Thanks Al," Sam was somewhat relieved.

Al nodded and disappeared.

After Sam stepped outside, one of the officers under his charge came up to him.

"Sir, what will we do?" the officer asked. "How are we going to respond to his demands?"

"We'll give him what he wants," Sam replied. "But as soon as some of those children are released, I've got another solution."

"He's agreed to release the hostages?" the officer looked hopeful.

"Only some," Sam continued. "He told me he was going to drive off with the rest and release them at a gas station five blocks down Fish Street."

"Great, Schaeffer gets his money and gets away," the officer frowned.

"Hey, the important thing is that we save lives," Sam reminded his junior officer. "And right now, this is the only way to do it."

oooo

The police officer, who had been with Sam earlier, knocked on the tall doors of the museum and placed a suitcase directly in front of them. He then stepped away from the marble steps and took out his speaker phone.

"Frank Schaeffer," the officer announced. "We've brought you the money as promised. Now release the hostages as you promised."

Several moments of silence ensued before the door opened up. A young redhead boy around the age of twelve stepped out first.

The police looked on warily, wondering if he was going to release the other hostages or not.

The young boy quickly picked up the suitcase and took it back inside. Fortunately for Frank, he had been thorough enough to make sure he'd gotten what he wanted first before fulfilling his end of the bargain.

Slowly, the door opened up again as several children came out, running forward to the police who helped to shield them and reunite them with the parents and teachers who were there at the standoff.

"Where's Arthur?" a concerned mother looked on. "He isn't out. Is he alright?!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," the officer shook his head. "That psycho didn't release all the kids. He's still keeping some inside as bargaining chips."

Standing there ruefully, the cops could only wait and hope for the best.

"Hey wait a minute," one of the policemen looked around. "Where's Cassidy?"

oooo

"You know Al, when you told me there was a way in, I thought you meant there was an open door somewhere in the back," Sam gritted his teeth.

With his body tightly installed into the ventilation system, Sam made his way slowly through the air vents, hoping and praying that he wouldn't make enough noise to attract the madman's attention.

"This is the right way Sam," Al promised. "Ziggy told me there was a ninety eight percent chance that this would be your ticket in to stopping that guy cold."

After crawling for what seemed like several minutes, Sam stopped as he saw an open grill in front of him, leading to what appeared to be an office room.

"Down there is the curator's office," Al told Sam. "You'll want to drop off here."

"Okay then," Sam quickly got to work unfastening the grill from the air vent he was in.

Within moments, he had leaped down.

"Alright Al, what next?" asked Sam.

"Hang on, let me go see what Schaeffer is up to," Al told him. "Just to make sure the kids are alright."

Al quickly fixed his position to Schaffer's location and disappeared, leaving Sam waiting in the room.

Sam took a deep breath. The stakes were high now that children were involved. He shuddered to think what would happen if Al's three daughters were ever involved in a hostage situation such as this. It was exactly as the bartender named Al had said all those years ago. His leaps were getting tougher and tougher.

Incidentally, when he had changed history to make sure Al got back together with Beth, Al had never found out about it. The immediate change to the time-space continuum ensured that Al's only memories were that he had always been with Beth. The previous timeline where Beth had separated from Al was for all intents and purposes erased. And the only person who knew about it was Sam Beckett himself.

Looking around, Sam took notice of some papers lying there. Out of curiosity he picked them up.

"New artifact for the history exhibit," Sam read aloud. "A centuries old hourglass was discovered in Britain. It is believed to have been created sometime in the late 400s to 500s during the era known to posterity as the Dark Ages."

Sam put the papers down.

"Interesting," Sam mused. "Imagine if I could travel back to those times…"

His daydreaming was interrupted soon enough by the re-emergence of Al.

"Got good news and bad news," Al announced.

"Give it to me straight Al," requested Sam.

"The good news is, those kids are still safe for the moment," Al replied.

"And the bad news?"

"Those remaining kids with Schaeffer… they still lose their lives."

"What do I need to do?" asked Sam.

"Frank Schaeffer is with those kids at the history exhibit," Al answered. "If you go down the hall to your left and then make a right, Ziggy estimates there's a ninety six percent chance you'll get the drop on him."

"I'll take those odds," Sam agreed.

oooo

"When do we get to go?" demanded Elizabeth.

Frank Schaeffer took count. There were only four kids left. It wasn't quite a full classroom but it was still enough to give him bargaining power.

"I'll let you go soon enough," promised Frank, opening up his suitcase.

"You got what you wanted so why keep us waiting?" demanded Arthur, a young boy with brown hair and a Batman t-shirt.

"Don't push your luck kid," Schaeffer pointed a gun at him. "You don't want me to change my mind."

Furrowing his eyebrows, Frank Schaeffer continued to examine his money. In the hallways right before the room, Sam kneeled down as Al's hologram passed through after having entered the room.

"So what caused this guy to take their lives?" whispered Sam.

"I don't know," Al confessed. "I haven't found all the facts with Ziggy yet but this guy got what he wanted. What does he have to prove by committing cold-blooded murder?"

"What the Hell?" Frank Schaeffer screamed, causing Al and Sam to take notice.

"This is counterfeit money!" Schaeffer raged. "So this is how it's going to be, huh?"

"Uh oh, Sam," Al felt a chill down his spine. "I think we have our reason why this guy decided to show no mercy to the remaining hostages."

"All of you get up!" Frank ordered the remaining child hostages.

Left with no choice, all of them got up at his command.

"Alright kids, we're going for a ride just like I promised," Schaeffer smiled. "And we're going to teach the cops a lesson for trying to gyp me."

"Oh no Sam," Al looked at his handheld device. "He's gonna do it."

Sam got up but Al quickly motioned for him to stay still.

"You stay put where you are," Al said to his friend. "He can't see me. I'll let you know when's the right time to lay into him."

Standing in front of the history exhibit entrance, Al watched carefully as Schaeffer herded the kids together and walked towards the entrance.

"Wait for it Sam," Al told Sam who remained hidden. "He's coming out in five, four, three, two…"

Taking his first step outside, Schaeffer raised his gun with his right hand.

"Now Sam!" yelled Al.

From the side, Sam leaped into action, taking Schaeffer completely by surprise. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it down across his own shoulder, forcing Frank to drop the gun.

"Agh!" screamed Frank as his arm was bent.

Sam Beckett slammed his elbow into Frank's stomach and then unloaded on the kidnapper by turning around and punching him hard enough to knock the man back.

As Sam closed in on him, Schaeffer got up and punched Sam across the jaw, making the physicist see stars. Frank grabbed Sam by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut, knocking the breath out of him. Not letting go, Frank then jerked Sam back and threw him into one of the artifacts, knocking over a glass display of a 18th century telescope. As Sam fell to the floor, Frank took out his knife.

"Ready for a gutting, pig?" Frank smiled sadistically.

Sam grabbed the telescope and readied himself. He hated to cause damage to such a priceless artifact but right now he needed some means of defending himself.

Frank slashed at him but Sam blocked the weapon with the telescope and punched Frank viciously across the jaw. He swung back the other way and clobbered Schaeffer across the head with the telescope, forcing the criminal to drop his knife.

With Frank now dazed, Sam swung around, catching the man across the face with a spin kick that sent him crashing into another display, this time knocking over what appeared to be an hourglass encased inside a glass case.

The hourglass fell to the floor, shattering as all of its sandy inward contents came pouring out across the floor.

Frank Schaeffer groaned before finally falling into unconsciousness.

"Attaboy, Sam!" Al congratulated his friend and colleague.

oooo

"What you did took guts," the police officer congratulated Sam. "You took down Frank Schaeffer and best of all, there were no casualties."

By now, the police had come inside to arrest the unconscious Schaeffer.

"I'm just glad we were able to save the lives of those kids," admitted Sam. "But I have to say, I'm a little disappointed some of these artifacts were damaged in our fight."

"Hey, what are a few old hunks of junk compared to human lives?" the officer patted Sam on the back. "The museum will understand."

One of the boys who had been held captive, Arthur, ran over to Sam.

"Thanks Officer Cassidy," Arthur told Sam. "You saved all our lives today!"

"Don't sweat it kid," Sam smiled warmly. "You just run along home and remember to stay in school."

Arthur gave Sam a hug before running back to his mother.

"See what I mean?" the officer chuckled.

As the officer walked away, Sam took the time to go over to the scene where the hourglass had been shattered. The magnificent object was now ruined. Its once hand-crafted beauty was now nothing more than broken glass and sand.

"Too bad this had to happen," Sam said ruefully.

"I know what you mean," Al appeared next to Sam. "I used to have this old Ming Dynasty vase at home… beautiful, just beautiful. Then in a fit of rage, my high school sweetheart shattered it when we were having our final breakup argument."

"Must've been rough," Sam looked at the hologram.

"It was," admitted Al. "Then it got better. Plus I met Beth later on so it wasn't really much of a loss."

In their previous adventures before Sam had changed Al's personal history, Al always made mention of his multiple wives. Now, however, all of that had been erased when Sam finally put Beth and Al back together. Rather than ex-wives and messy divorces, Sam now had to put up with Al talking about his old flames and high school breakups.

"Think this artifact can be put back together?" Sam knelt down to observe the broken hourglass.

"It'll take a few sleepless hours and a lot of patience," admitted Al, "but I think it can be done."

"I would love to put it back together myself," Sam sighed. "But something tells me I won't be sticking around long enough to do it."

Al watched as the blue aura surrounded Sam once more.

"Hey, not every wrong is yours to put right," Al told his friend.

"I know, but I guess I can't help myself sometimes," Sam smiled.

"Maybe not, but the curators have got this one," Al replied. "Good luck on your next leap, Sam."

As Sam leaped out, the woozy and shaken Officer Cassidy returned to spot where Sam was standing.

"Geez, the future really is a weird place," Officer Cassidy shook his head and walked off.

As soon as the police officer had left the room, the broken hourglass began to shake violently.

Soon, the grains of sand began to move together and coalesce, whipping into the air and lashing about violently. A dark aura surrounded the whole scene, darkening the entire history exhibit room. Finally, the sand within the hourglass formed into the shape of a man.

Standing in the exhibit was a dark hooded figure with a medieval staff in his hand. Silently, he tilted his hood and looked down upon the broken hourglass.

Raising his hand, he consumed the hourglass with a red aura, mending it and fixing it completely. With a mere gesture, he telekinetically lifted the hourglass into the air and then into his hands.

Placing the hourglass on top of his staff, the mysterious figure raised it up, summoning a portal out of thin air. Without a single word, the strange visitor vanished through it to parts unknown.


	2. Faith and Good Works Pt 1

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Faith and Good Works Part 1_

By the time the blue aura cleared up, Sam Beckett found himself in a familiar situation once more.

Looking down at the clothes he was wearing, Sam once again noticed that he was in priestly garments. It had been years ago that he leaped into a religious figure in order to help out another priest, Father McRoberts, who had been ailing from alcoholism and his desire to avenge the death of a young boy.

But was he back in the exact same parish?

"Father Pistano, how are you doing?" a kind voice behind Sam alerted him.

"Uh yeah, I'm doing alright," Sam turned around.

Right in front of him was Father McRoberts, the one and only.

"Father Mac!" Sam said in surprise.

"What's wrong, Frank?" asked Father Mac. "You look like you've seen a ghost. In fact, you're looking at me like I'm a ghost."

"I'm… a little woozy," Sam replied, making up something on the spot. "I woke up with a bit of a headache earlier and just about anything that comes out of nowhere will surprise me!"

It was not the best of excuses but it appeared to be a passable one as Father Mac nodded, accepting it.

"I hope you'll be ready for Immaculate Conception Day a few short days from now," Father Mac told him. "It's going to be a busy day and I'll need as much help as I can with the services."

"I'm, uh, always ready to help out," Sam agreed. "Hang on for a second… I have to go use the restroom."

Excusing himself, Sam sped off to the men's restroom. Closing the door behind him, he looked around.

"Al, you there?"

No reply.

"C'mon Al!" Sam tried again. "I'm back in one of my old leaps!"

Finally, the hologram of Al appeared from out of a glowing door.

"Geez Sam," Al commented. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Al, I'm back in a previous leap!" Sam told him. "You remember the Catholic Diocese I was in?"

"I remember, Sam," Al nodded. "And I can imagine why…"

"I never get sent back on the same leap twice," Sam finished. "Unless…"

"Oh great," Al put a hand on his forehead. "Those other leapers are back."

It had been years since Sam or Al had encountered the other leapers. For simply lack of a better term, 'evil leapers' was the moniker they had used for Alia, Zoey, and the others who travelled across time, undermining the good works of Sam's leaping.

"So what am I here for?" asked Sam.

Al typed in some coordinates on his device.

"Oh boy," Al's eyes narrowed. "This ain't good."

"What happens?" demanded Sam.

"History is changing, Sam," Al frowned. "Father McRoberts is going to die tonight."

"What?!" Sam was shocked.

"I don't know all the details," Al continued. "But it appears that Father McRoberts will die tonight from a fall."

"A fall?" Sam was shocked. "Was he murdered?"

"We don't know," Al said uncertainly. "It could've been a murder. It also could've been a suicide."

"A suicide?" Sam shook his head. "Come on… Father Mac isn't in that state of mind anymore."

"Hey, you never know," Al said, not completely ruling out the scenario.

"In the original timeline, Father Mac went on to have a good ending," Sam turned around to look at Father Pistano's image in the mirror. "This means I'm going to work double-time. Keep a close eye on Father Mac… and find the evil leaper who's causing this."

For what it was worth, he did not believe it was Alia. She had redeemed herself and leaped into safety after his adventure with her was over. There was also the woman Zoey but hadn't he finished her off when he shot her?

Suddenly, a look of shock came over Al's face.

"Sam, I hear gunshots outside the imaging chamber," Al looked concerned.

"Gunshots?!" Sam was shocked. Had somebody infiltrated Project Quantum Leap?

"Hang in tight, Sam," Al told his friend. "I'll be back!"

oooo

"What's going on here?!" Al Calavicci stepped outside of the imaging chamber and into the main room.

"This is going on."

As soon as Al took his first step outside, he felt a gun pointed at his temple.

Turning around, he saw an entire squadron of masked soldiers inside the room, holding every Project Quantum Leap worker hostage at gunpoint.

"Who are you people?" Al demanded.

"You don't get to ask questions," the masked soldier replied to Al in a British accent.

"Hey Constance!" a soldier near the main computer tried to install a small piece of hard drive inside the computer. "Is this how I install Lothos?"

The man holding Al hostage bristled.

"Ramirez, you idiot!" Constance yelled. "Don't give away my name!"

"But… you just gave away my name too," Ramirez sounded upset.

"Nevermind that," Constance growled. "We have a job to do."

Constance walked over towards the main computer that housed Ziggy, helping Ramirez properly place the hard drive in.

"There, now Lothos should be able to install itself into Project Quantum Leap just fine," Constance smiled through his mask.

"Just who are you?" Dr. Donna Eleese-Beckett stepped forward.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Constance sneered at her.

Donna stared at the masked man without a hint of fear.

"What do you want with us?" she demanded.

"Simple," Constance replied. "We're taking over this project. Soon, Lothos will download himself into your core systems and take over this whole facility."

"Lothos?" Al got up, knowing full well that it was potentially a bad idea. "You people are working with those evil leapers."

"Evil leapers?" Constance looked incredulous. "Is that what you've labeled us? I'll have you know that Project Chr—"

"I thought we weren't going to give away anymore names… or secrets," Ramirez interrupted Constance.

Embarrassed, Constance collected himself once more.

"Right," the black ops leader nodded. "We will share no more secrets with you. Soon, Lothos will take control… not that any of you will live to tell about it."

"You plan on killing all of us, don't you?" Gooshie, the head programmer, asked.

"Way to ask the obvious," Ramirez smiled, as the other soldiers in the room began chuckling.

"How did you people find out about us?" demanded Al.

"It was simple," Constance leaned against the wall. "When our project became aware of other time travelers out there, we realized that they had to have a source somewhere. And because we discovered this Sam Beckett had an American accent, it was only a matter of time before we realized that his base of operations was somewhere within the United States."

"So how'd you find out about our location exactly?" Al pressed on.

"You'd be amazed what government bureaucrats and politicians will reveal with the right financial incentive," revealed Constance.

"So a bunch of no-good big wigs sold us out for thirty pieces of silver," Al muttered.

"Naturally," Constance sneered. "What can a bunch of scientists do to defend themselves? You people never saw this coming."

"Then I'll have you know that I've already alerted security while you weren't looking," Donna stared down Constance. "They should be here soon."

"You're bluffing," Constance pointed his gun at her.

"Am I?" Donna Eleese-Beckett stepped aside, revealing a red emergency button that had been pressed down.

"You're taking a real risk calling for backup," Constance pointed his gun directly under her chin. "What's to say we won't go down in a blaze of glory without taking you down with us?"

"Hey boss," Ramirez said in a shaky tone. "Something's wrong here."

"What?!" demanded Constance.

"Lothos… it's not downloading into Project Quantum Leap!" Ramirez looked on in shock.

"Why?" Constance fumed. "Lothos was recently upgraded to be able to hack into advanced government systems like this!"

"I don't know!" Ramirez was panicking now. "It's like they've uploaded some crazy anti-virus system!"

Without warning, the front door opened up, revealing one of the black ops soldiers.

"Sir, there's a convoy of government soldiers headed our way," the soldier told Constance.

It was then that Constance realized that Donna was not bluffing.

"Bloody Hell!" Constance swore. "Is Lothos being downloaded into the systems yet?"

"No sir…" Ramirez looked at the hard drive frantically.

"Abort the mission!" Constance ordered his soldiers. "We leave now!"

Taking hold of the hard drive that contained Lothos, Ramirez yanked it out and put it inside one of his pockets.

"You can't just come in and threaten us like this!" Gooshie got in front of Constance.

"What's going to stop us?" Constance grimaced and pushed Gooshie down. "Your halitosis?"

As quickly as they had appeared, the masked soldiers disappeared through the doors. As Constance walked out, Gooshie quickly grabbed his shoes.

"We have a right to know who you are and why you held us hostage!" Gooshie demanded.

"No… you don't!" Constance planted his foot on Gooshie's shoulder and pushed him off roughly.

By the time all of them were gone, Gooshie breathed a sigh of relief.

"We do now!" Gooshie smiled.

"What do you mean?" Al got up and walked up towards the programmer.

"I got a tracer on his boot," Gooshie replied gleefully. "Now we can track them back to wherever they came from!"

"Gooshie, you're a genius!" Al smiled.

"If that's true, I'm not the only one today," Gooshie looked over at Donna Eleese-Beckett.

"Yeah, that was some good quick thinking calling in security," Al told her. "We may not be standing here right now if you hadn't kept your cool and handled the situation with grace."

The front door slid open to reveal several government soldiers.

"We got your emergency signal," the head officer told them. "Is everything alright?"

"Several masked men with guns barged in and tried to take control of Project Quantum Leap," Gooshie informed the officer. "Here, let me go get the security tape for you."

As Gooshie walked off with the security officer, Al walked off towards the Imaging Chamber with Donna.

"Are you alright?" Al asked Donna.

"Honestly?" she looked at the former naval officer. "I was terrified."

"Well, you did a good job not looking the part," Al complimented. "Not many people can keep cool under fire like that."

Most of the time, it was Sam who was in harm's way. But on the rare occasion, the staff of Project Quantum Leap also came under fire. One notorious case was when Sam had leaped into a serial killer. The deranged criminal managed to escape the waiting room and proceeded to cause havoc before being brought back to his own timeline.

"A part of me wanted to scream, cower in fear, and even give up," confessed Donna. "But then I remembered that I was doing this for Sam. I have to stay strong for him."

"Sam's a lucky man, Donna," Al smiled.

"Are you two alright?" a female technician came up to them.

She had light brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. Glasses adorned her face as she chewed on a pen nervously.

"We're okay now, Sammy Jo," confirmed Donna. "Thank you."

"More importantly, thank you for monitoring the situation with the attempted download," Al told her. "If we hadn't placed you in a separate facility to monitor our computers, then Lothos would've infected our entire system."

Sammy Jo Fuller was the daughter of Sam Beckett during one of his leaps. Normally, Sam had the moral values of a boy scout and rarely engaged in anything extramarital. It was even more uncommon for him to sleep with a woman who had been intended for another man.

However, on that night, Sam gave in to his passions and spent the evening with Abigail Fuller despite that fact that he was not her fiancé, Will Kinman. And Sammy Jo was the product of that union between Sam Beckett and Abigail.

"From my location I noticed a disturbance in the systems of our mainframe computer," Sammy Jo told Donna and Al. "I was able to find it in time and prevent it from corrupting the systems."

"I don't know what we'd do without you," smiled Donna.

"Unfortunately, there are still traces of this virus left in our databanks," Sammy Jo told them. "I'm going to have to analyze it and come up a better anti-virus just in case another cyber-attack like this happens."

"Agreed," nodded Al. "The sooner we make a Lothos repellant for Ziggy, the better."

"Lothos?" asked Sammy Jo. "Is that the name of the program that tried to take over?"

"It's a long and complicated story but yes," Al confirmed. "Let me fill you in on what I know."

oooo

"Hey Father Mac," Sam asked. "You've been feeling alright lately?"

The two of them stood toe to toe in the boxing ring. Already, Father Mac was moving on the offensive.

"That's a bit of an odd question," Father Mac replied, "but recently, yes. I was once an angry and vengeful man. But it's the kind of man I strive to grow out of daily."

"That's good to hear," Sam ducked a few jabs from Father Mac.

"I'm only human," Father Mac punched at Sam's arms for a while. "I try my best to do the Lord's work but there will always be times when I falter. But I know in those times, He will be there to pick me back up again and put me back on my feet."

The two traded punches for a while before backing away from each other again.

"Sometimes, the Lord sends people into our lives to help us," continued Father McRoberts, "people who aid us in our darkest hours and enable us to grow. Like the way you helped me cope with Sunny's death and not give in to murdering Tony Pronti and staining my hands with blood."

"Hey, anything to help out a fellow priest," Sam smiled.

At that moment, he got punched in the jaw. Sam stumbled back slightly before regaining his composure.

"Remember to keep your arms up," Father Mac reminded him. "I may be a priest but I still swing one mean left hook."

"Right… right," Sam raised them up again.

Suddenly, one of the bells in the church rang, alerting both Sam and Father Mac.

"Hmm, I wonder who that could be," Father Mac stopped what he was doing.

As Sam went with Father Mac, he noticed a cat with light brown hair lying down next to the ring.

"Is that a stray?" asked Sam.

"I found him just last night," Father Mac admitted. "He was famished and I decided to take him in."

"Hey, I'm sure no good deed goes unrewarded," smiled Sam.

Father McRoberts put on his jogging jacket to look a bit more presentable as Sam did the same before heading to the door.

As Father Mac opened up, he saw a blonde haired businessman with slicked back hair and a fashionably dressed business suit. Next to him was a taller bodyguard with darker hair and a hint of Italian to his facial features.

"Good evening, you must be Father McRoberts, am I right?" the blonde businessman asked.

"I am," Father Mac shook his head. "And you are…?"

"I'm Carl Rory," he announced. "And the person next to me is my friend and bodyguard, Lorenzo. I admit, I wasn't expecting to see you out of uniform."

"Oh, my church has a gym in the back," Father Mac admitted. "On our off hours, Father Pistano and I work out there."

Sam smiled and waved hello to Carl and his bodyguard Lorenzo. Right now he was not getting a good vibe from either of the two men but for the moment, he still had to remain polite and cordial since they hadn't done anything yet.

"Having a gym in the back is a good idea," Lorenzo flashed a smile. "You gotta be strong in order to be a man of God."

"So how may I help you gentlemen today?" asked Father Mac.

"I grew up in these streets," Carl looked up at the ceiling. "By the time I was in high school, this neighborhood was already falling apart and I was just a punk kid who didn't do anything to help with the problem. After high school was over, I went to college elsewhere and made something of myself."

Carl then looked at Father Mac in the eyes.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to help this whole neighborhood," he smiled. "I'm buying out a lot of buildings on this street and there's always room for improvement."

Father Mac frowned slightly.

"How much would you like for Saint Mary's?" asked Carl. "Name your price… whatever you want!"

"I'm sorry sir," Father Mac said without hesitation. "But selling St Mary's is something we cannot do. This church provides hope to believers and there's still much we need to do in order to help people ourselves. This church cannot be sold."

For a moment, Carl Rory looked like he was about to say something but then decided against it. Instead, he flashed a smile and offered his hand to Father Mac.

"No offense taken," Carl shook the priest's hand. "You're a man of God who's doing good work here. I was the one out of line for suggesting such a thing. Have a nice evening, father."

Carl then walked over to Sam and offered a hand.

"Nice meeting you as well, Father…?" Carl smiled.

"Pistano," Sam answered.

For cordiality's sake, Sam decided to shake Carl's hand. But as soon as their hands touched, a bright light consumed both of them, blinding each other.

As Sam looked up again, he found himself staring into the face of a leaper he had encountered a long time ago.

"You…" Sam growled.

"Yes… me," Zoey sneered, now recognizing Sam as well.

Whenever two leapers touched each other, they would instantly recognize one another, as Sam had experienced long ago.

"I'm sorry, but do you two know each other?" asked Father Mac.

"I do now," Sam replied with an edge to his voice. "I thought I didn't recognize this person at first… but now it's all coming back to me."

"Yes, the memories are returning to me as well," Zoey replied. "In any case, have a nice day, both of you."

At that, Zoey walked off with Carl Rory's bodyguard.

"Well, I'm going to retire to my studies," Father Mac patted Sam on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Of course," Sam nodded. "I'll see you later."

As soon as Father Mac left, Sam turned around only to bump into the hologram of Al.

"Al, good thing you're here!" Sam said with relief in his voice.

"Sorry I couldn't make it back sooner," Al replied. "But there were these masked soldiers that broke into our compound and tried to take over."

"Who are those people?" asked Sam.

"They revealed that they were trying to download Lothos' program into our core system," Al informed his friend. "They were working for those evil leapers, without a doubt."

"Is everything okay over there?" Sam looked concerned.

"It is now," Al told him. "All of our staff showed courage in the face of danger and your daughter in particular managed to create this nifty anti-virus program to prevent Lothos from infecting all of our software."

"That's good," Sam breathed a sigh of relief as the stray cat Father Mac took in came by to rub against his leg.

"I stayed behind a little longer with Sammy Jo," Al mentioned. "There were traces of Lothos left behind from the cyber-attack but your daughter managed to upgrade Ziggy, making her frequencies incompatible with Lothos, and shielding her from any future attempts at a hostile takeover."

"That Sammy Jo really is a genius," Sam smiled.

"Hey, we know where she gets it from!" Al grinned.

"In any case, remember that Carl Rory guy who stopped by?" asked Sam.

"I caught a glimpse of him just as he left," Al replied. "He had a smile like a shark, that one."

"Carl has been replaced with the leaper Zoey," Sam informed him.

"What?" Al looked surprised. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, in the original timeline Father Mac would go on to have a happier ending," Sam looked at the horizon seriously. "And we both know I never return to an old leap unless one of those other leapers is causing trouble."

"We're in a rough spot," admitted Al.

"I agree," Sam placed an arm against the wall, "which is why I need to keep a careful eye on 'Carl' and watch over Father Mac at the same time."

oooo

"So you just let them keep their property?" Lorenzo asked as he and 'Carl' got into their limo.

As Lorenzo got on the wheel, Zoey sat down and buckled her seatbelt.

"Don't worry," she told Lorenzo. "In situations like this, one must always keep up appearances. Father McRoberts had to think I was backing off."

"So what next?" Lorenzo glanced back.

"Well, you know what they say," Zoey smiled. "Accidents happen."

"Name the time," Lorenzo grinned. "I'll make it happen."

"Tonight," confirmed Zoey. "After all, Father McRoberts is an older gentleman. And sometimes, unfortunate accidents tend to befall older gentlemen more…"

_To be continued._


	3. Faith and Good Works Pt 2

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Faith and Good Works Part 2_

"Hey Father Mac," Sam went up to the elder priest. "I've decided to stay a little later here tonight. Hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not," McRoberts replied. "I'll be in my studies. There are a few more books I have to get done with."

"Oh, which ones?" asked Sam.

"Have you ever read GK Chesterton before?" asked Father Mac.

"I've heard of him," confessed Sam. "But, uh, I don't think I've ever taken the time to read his works."

"I'm currently reading The Everlasting Man," Father Mac walked down the halls with Sam. "It's one of the greatest works of Christian apologetics ever written. When I'm done reading it, I could let you borrow it."

"That would be swell, Father," Sam smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll quote you a little something from this book," Father Mac nodded. "_There are two ways of getting home, and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk 'round the whole world till we come back to the same place; and I tried to trace such a journey in a story I once wrote._"

"More than one way of getting home?" Sam sighed wearily. "Honestly at this point I think I could teleport to every part of the world and still not make it home."

To Sam, the home he was talking about was his own time that he had yet to return to. However, to Father McRoberts, Sam's words sounded like a yearning for a more eternal home beyond the Earth.

"The journey will be tough, Frank," Father Mac gripped Sam's shoulder. "And along the way, we will encounter suffering and tribulations. But if we endure to the very end, we will reach our final destiny and rewards beyond any earthly riches we can imagine."

"That sounds nice," Sam replied, going along with Father McRoberts.

It wasn't necessarily that Sam didn't believe in things beyond the scientific and secular world that he was involved in. In fact, during many of his leaps, he had seen extraordinary things that defied logical explanations.

Along the way, he had seen ghosts, aliens, guardian angels, the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, and at one point, even an age-old vampire. But by and far, it was not something Sam was used to. For most of his life he had not been a particularly religious man but in his many leaps, he had come to acknowledge that there were things beyond both the scientific and the mundane. But in spite of it all, he still operated on a basic skill sets of science and logic, with supernatural or religious phenomena kept to a minimum.

From behind the walls, Al appeared next to Father McRoberts.

"Hey Sam, we gotta talk," Al told him.

"Excuse me for a moment Father," Sam said to the elderly priest. "I'll be right back.

Before long, Sam was inside Father Pistano's office with Al pacing back and forth nervously.

"What do you have for me, Al?" asked Sam.

"I don't know what's going on," Al replied. "But Ziggy is telling me that there's an eighty five percent chance that Father Mac is gonna bite the bullet tonight even with you here."

"What?" Sam was shocked. "How can that be?"

"Unfortunately that's what Ziggy is telling me," Al told Sam, "Father Mac is still going to die."

"How can that be?" demanded Sam.

"I don't know," admitted Al. "Ziggy doesn't have all the exact details on what happened that night."

"I need to be there with Father Mac then," Sam got up.

"Wait Sam," Al called out. "Before you do, there's some more information I need to share with you."

"What is it?"

"Well it involves some of those bad leapers," replied Al. "Before I came to see you, I did some research with Sammy Jo. We may have a lead to whatever organization they are and where they're located."

"What do you got for me?" Sam was curious.

"Well their supercomputer Lothos for one…" Al checked his data. "We think we've found a lead on a possible origin for the name Lothos. Have you ever heard of a Nathaniel Lothoman?"

"No, I don't believe I have," admitted Sam.

"Well, here's what I found out," continued Al. "And you're going to be amazed. You remember your time at MIT with Professor LoNigro, right?"

"How could I not?" Sam smiled, remembering fondly his time developing his string theory with the professor.

"Get this, two years after you graduated," Al went on. "Professor LoNigro took in another star pupil by the name of Nathaniel Lothoman… a quantum physicist just like you. Apparently, they worked to further advance the string theories that you and LoNigro came up with together."

"Whatever became of this Lothoman?" asked Sam.

"Well if you're expecting the story of a scientist-turned-evil-genius who wants to take over the world, you may be disappointed," answered Al. "A few years before our own Project Quantum Leap began, Dr. Lothoman died under mysterious circumstances. Some claim it was heart failure as there was no sign of struggle but others believe he was assassinated somehow."

"Then he's not the one behind these evil leapers," Sam looked at Al. "Is it somebody else?"

"We don't know yet," Al acknowledged, "but I do believe this Lothoman may have created the blueprint for these bad leapers to jump around time. I'll go back and continue my research to see if we can dig up anything more on these people."

"Thanks Al," Sam got up again. "I think I'd better go keep an eye out for Father Mac now."

"Good luck Sam," Al nodded.

As Sam stepped outside, Al suddenly noted the shadow of another person behind the door that Sam had opened up.

"Sam, look out!" shouted Al, but it was too late.

Before Sam could turn around in time, a metal pipe struck Sam across the skull, knocking him unconscious.

As Sam crumpled to the floor, Al quickly ran through the walls to see the figure of 'Carl' standing there with a triumphant smirk.

"That was a cheap shot, you no good scumbucket!" Al shouted.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Beckett," Zoey smiled. "But it's more important that I fulfill my mission."

oooo

Sam was not sure for how long he had been out but as soon as he came to, he was hit with an immense throbbing in his head.

"Ugh… what happened?" he groaned.

Before long, he realized he wasn't alone in the room. Zoey stood a few yards away from him to the side. Sam tried to get up but soon realized that his arms were tied behind his back and his feet were tied to a chair.

"Oh I assure you," Zoey said to Sam in a faux-pleasant tone. "You won't be getting up anytime soon."

"You…" Sam glared at her. "So after all these years you finally showed up. I thought you died back in that women's prison."

"True I was mortally wounded by you," she acknowledged. "And I would have died too… but as soon as the aura from the leap consumed me, I was healed of my wounds."

She looked at Sam's incredulous glare.

"It's amazing what modern science can do now, isn't it?" she chuckled.

Sam sighed, realizing that she was right. A long time ago, he had leaped into the body of the infamous Lee Harvey Oswald. During that moment, he had gotten into a brutal fight with Oswald's commanding officer, a fight that had left Sam beaten and bloodied. However, right after he made the leap out of that era of Oswald's life, the aura from the leap had healed him completely of all his wounds. It was not unlikely that Zoey's very own leap had saved her life from the gunshot.

"Did you miss me?" she asked coyly.

"Like I miss acne," Sam answered disdainfully.

"Judge me all you want," Zoey told him, "but not even you can stop me tonight."

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Sam.

"It's simply really," Zoey replied cheerfully. "The priest needs to die."

"That's it?" Sam looked furious. "Father McRoberts has been through so much already. He's had to live with the death of a young boy from his parish. He's struggled to rein himself from taking revenge and staining his priesthood with blood. Why in the world are you doing this to him?!"

"Because," Zoey said matter-of-factly, "we're in this to test a theory."

"A theory?!" Sam was taken aback. "Ruining the lives of people just to test what theory?"

"That is actually not your concern," Zoey turned away. "Thames, is everything going to plan?"

Next to here was the hologram of a black man holding a handheld device in his hand. He was well dressed and posh. However, Zoey was the only one in the room who could see him.

"Sam, are you alright?" the hologram of Al leaned down next to him.

Sam gave a brief nod but didn't say anything more, not wanting to expose Al's presence to Zoey or her hologram.

"The plan is flowing smoothly," Thames replied with a smile. "Carl's bodyguard Lorenzo is in place to take care of Father Big Mac."

"Good, then I'll be taking my leave now," Zoey pushed her hair back. "I need to be as far away from this crime scene as I can."

"That would be best," confirmed Thames.

"Goodbye Mr. Beckett," Zoey walked towards the door. "I regret to inform you that when and if you do break free of those restraints, Lorenzo will have completed his task."

"Sayonara, sucker!" Thames waved at Sam.

When Zoey was finally gone, Sam turned back to the hologram of Al Calavicci.

"Is there any way I can get out of this in time?" Sam tried to break free.

Al looked around nervously.

"There's… there's, uh, a box cutter on top of this desk," confirmed Al, 'but I don't know how to get it off…"

Looking around frantically, Sam noticed the stray cat that Father Mac had taken in earlier. It was a long shot that he realized it was still worth trying to use the cat to somehow get free.

"Al, animals can still see you," Sam told his friend. "Think you could get that cat to get me the box cutter?"

"Uh Sam," Al looked at the cat nervously. "We're talking about a cat here. They're not exactly known for being able to fetch."

"It's a long shot but it's the only shot we have," Sam reminded him.

"Okay, I'm not very good with cats but here goes nothing," Al bit down on his teeth.

Luckily for Sam, the cat leaped on top of the table just a few inches away from the boxcutter.

"Here kitty kitty kitty…" Al looked at the cat, making a face.

The feline only stared back at him blankly.

"Try something else!" insisted Sam.

"Okay uh… fetch!" Al commanded.

Again he was greeted with silence.

"C'mon Al!"

"I got it!" Al suddenly realized.

The cat could see him… that much Al was certain of. However, it wasn't afraid of him… and that needed to change.

"Alright pussy cat," Al glared at the cat. "You wanna play it that way?"

Without warning, Al's hologram walked straight through the table, taking the feline by complete shock and surprise. Though the cat didn't have quite as developed of a sentient mindset as a human being, even she recognized when something freakish had occurred, such as Al's figure walking straight through the table.

Hissing in fear, the cat turned tail and ran, knocking over the boxcutter. The cutter fell off the table as Sam caught it just in time with his hands behind his back.

"Good job, Al!" Sam cried.

"Yes!" Al pumped his fist into the air.

"I've got this," Sam told Al as he opened up the blade and began cutting through the ropes. "Go make sure Father Mac is alright!"

Not needing to be told twice, Al disappeared.

oooo

Father Mac stood on top of the second story of St Mary's. He was deep in thought, reading a Chesterton book in hand and contemplating how he would deliver his next sermon.

Right in front of him, Al appeared.

"Okay, so far so good," Al breathed in relief.

As Father Mac leaned over a staircase, Al noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye. It was Lorenzo, the bodyguard of Carl and the man who was going to push Father Mac to his doom.

"Oh no…" Al panicked.

Quickly he disappeared, transporting his hologram back to where Sam was.

"Sam, are you done yet?" Al shouted.

"Almost halfway through…" Sam confirmed.

"You gotta hurry Sam," Al insisted. "That Lorenzo guy is right up there with Father Mac right now!"

"No!" Sam cried. "If I could just cut through these ropes right now…"

"Hang in tight Sam," Al told him. "I'm going to go back to see what I can do."

With that, he teleported his hologram back to where Father Mac was.

"You gotta turn around, Father Mac!" shouted Al. "He's right behind you!"

Fortunately for Lorenzo and unfortunately for Father Mac, the Italian bodyguard was as silent as could be in his steps.

Then Al saw another opening. Right behind Father Mac was a stained glass window. In front of that stained glass window was a dove. Al had had his encounters with doves before and their wing flaps could be almost as loud as a thunderclap. He had one chance and one chance only to save Father Mac.

As Lorenzo closed in on Father Mac, Al transported himself directly in front of the dove in thin air and screamed as loudly as he could, frightening the dove into taking flight and flapping loud enough to make Father Mac turn around.

Father Mac did not see the dove flying away but he did see Lorenzo standing right in front of him.

"You again!" Father McRoberts exclaimed.

"I was supposed to make this look like an accident but now I gotta do it the messy way," Lorenzo reached inside his vest.

Instinctively, Father Mac dove into Lorenzo before he could pull out his gun. Struggling with the other man, Father Mac slammed his hand into the wall, forcing Lorenzo to drop his gun. Whipping Lorenzo around, Father Mac punched Lorenzo, knocking him away from the gun.

Lorenzo got up, blocking one of Father Mac's swings and nailing the priest across the face with mean right hook that sent Father Mac crashing into one of the handrails near the staircase. The bodyguard closed in, grabbing Father Mac by the neck and attempting to push him off the rails and onto the lower floor below.

"C'mon, Father…" Al stood by the side.

He was still unsure whether or not Father Mac would survive but at least now he had given the older priest a fighting chance.

Without warning, Father Mac kneed Lorenzo in the gut, knocking the breath out of his assailant. As Lorenzo let go, Father Mac punched him directly in the jaw. As Lorenzo fell back, the priest punched him again. Repeatedly, Father Mac laid into the assassin with hard punches until finally Lorenzo fell down, unconscious and beaten.

"Yeah, that's right!" Al cried happily. "Good job, Father Mac!"

"Father Mac!" Sam ran up towards the priest. "Are you alright?"

"I am now," Father McRoberts sighed wearily.

"I was knocked out and tied up by these guys," Sam told him. "That Carl guy who tried to buy St Mary's earlier… I don't think he's going to give up that easily."

"He'll tale this church over my cold, lifeless body," promised Father Mac.

"Let's try not to have it come down to that, father," Sam smiled meekly.

oooo

"Bad news," Thames reported to Zoey, appearing in front of her as she sat in Carl's limo.

Zoey glared at him but gestured for him to continue.

"Your assassin didn't finish the job," Thames confirmed. "Father McRoberts is still alive."

Zoey sighed. "This day is just full of disappointments."

"What will you do now?" asked the hologram.

"You know what they say," Zoey reached inside a compartment of the limo. "If you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself."

"Now you're talkin' my language," Thames smiled.

Above the limo, a strange hooded figure watched them. Soon, Zoey turned the car around and headed back to St Mary's. The stranger above took the hourglass off his staff and flipped it around, allowing the sand to fall down once more. In a flash, he vanished into thin air.

oooo

"So Al, any theory on why I haven't leaped out yet?" asked Sam.

Father Mac was back recovering in his office while Sam sat in the pews alongside Al.

"I mean, Father Mac survived, didn't he?" Sam continued.

"Eh, Ziggy's going funny on me," admitted Al. "It's not giving me all the data yet but I think you're supposed to watch Father Mac for a little bit longer."

"Don't tell me Carl or Zoey or whoever is going to make another attempt on his life?" Sam looked worried.

"That's exactly it, Sam," Al narrowed his eyes at the new data poured into his hand-held device. "Father Mac's life is still in danger. In fact, you've changed history. Father Mac is still going to die, except instead of falling to his death in a mysterious 'accident,' he's going to end up—"

Before Al could finish what he was saying, an irate Zoey burst through the door with a shotgun in her hand.

"Yeah, that," Al pointed out.

"You!" Sam got up.

"Where is he?" demanded Zoey.

"You won't get to him," promised Sam.

"Oh no?" Zoey pointed her shotgun at Sam.

"Careful Sam, she's got some heavy duty firepower!" Al warned.

"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Thames stood next to Zoey's side.

"As I recall," Zoey smiled. "You once nearly took my life with a shotgun. It's only fitting that I close your final leap with the very same weapon."

"What's going on here?" Father Mac entered into the scene.

"Watch out, Father Mac!" warned Sam. "She's got a gun!"

"She?" Father Mac looked at Sam incredulously and then at Zoey, not realizing who 'Carl' really was. "I only see a man with a gun in here!"

"It doesn't matter," Sam replied. "This guy's out for blood, Father Mac… your blood."

"How right you are," Zoey trained the gun on Sam.

"Don't threaten Father Pistano," Father Mac told Zoey. "I'm the one you want."

"Oh, I want the both of you dead alright," Zoey assured him. "But for entirely different reasons."

"You don't have to do this," Sam told her.

"Oh, but I do!" Zoey slowly pulled down on the trigger.

Suddenly, a massive whirlwind surrounded the entire church, knocking over pews and filling the entire room with a powerful wind. Soon enough, tendrils of sand gathered in front of both Sam and Zoey, slowly taking form into that of a man.

"What the Devil?!" Zoey cursed.

Sam, Al, and Father Mac could only stand back and gape in shock as a figure in dark blue robes appeared before them all, holding a staff and an hourglass in his hands.

"Who are you?" demanded Zoey.

"Thy beginning and thy end," the robed figure replied with a dark raspy voice.

With that, the strange being lifted up his staff, enveloping the room in a black and red aura, consuming everyone in sight. Soon, Al, Sam, Zoey, and Thames alike were taken in by this aura as they vanished into nothingness along with the mysterious stranger, leaving behind a very bewildered Father McRoberts in its wake.


	4. Lost Christmas, I Give Thee My Heart

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Lost Christmas, I Give Thee My Heart  
_

After what felt like an eternity, Sam fell to the floor with a thud, hitting his head hard.

"Oh boy…" groaned Sam.

Getting up, he noticed Al right next to him, next to a massive stone formation. His friend appeared to have fallen unconscious as well.

"Where am I?" Sam looked around.

Nearby were all giant stone formations in a circular position.

"Stonehenge," Sam realized.

Then he noticed Zoey and two other figures at the center of Stonehenge. One was a black man with an electronic communicator in his hand. Judging from the device in his hand, Sam deduced that whoever he was, he must've been to an observer to Zoey, just like Al had been to him.

The other stranger, however, was a mysterious figure in dark blue robes, holding a medieval staff in his hand, alongside an hourglass that rested on top of the staff.

"That hourglass…" Sam stared at it intently, realizing that he had seen it before.

"Thames, get up!" Zoey told her assistant.

"Did I die and go to Kansas?" Thames asked groggily.

"No, now come to your senses!" she insisted.

Thames got up and backed away. Unexpectedly, his body did not phase through Zoey's as the two bumped into each other. She stared at him in awe, as it slowly dawned on her what was going on.

"I'm back in my own time," Zoey said elatedly. "Thames, this is wonderful!"

Thames then felt a chill down his spine as he looked up at the mysterious figure in front of himself and Zoey.

"Uh, I think I may want to lie back down now," Thames grimaced.

"You!" Zoey glared daggers at the stranger. "You cost me my revenge!"

"Have I now?" the robed figure asked in a raspy voice, pointing his finger towards Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci a few yards away.

"Thames, give me your gun!" ordered Zoey.

"My pleasure," Thames took out his pistol and handed it to Zoey.

"Oh boy," Sam took a step back.

As he backed away, he felt himself bumping into somebody else. Turning around, Sam stood face to face with Al Calavicci.

"Al?" Sam said in wonderment. "Did we just…"

"Touch?" Al replied. "Yeah, we did."

"And that means… I'm back in my own time!" Sam said elatedly, forgetting for the moment that his life was in danger again.

"Welcome home, Dr. Beckett," Zoey smiled. "I regret to inform you that your stay will be a short one."

"Oh great," Al grunted. "Now we have to deal with the Wicked Witch of the Leap."

Zoey, however, did not press down on the trigger immediately. She turned back to the dark figure present at the scene.

"Your name, stranger?" she asked.

"Thou shalt know me as Kairos," replied the mysterious figure.

"Thank you Kairos," Zoey said graciously, "for restoring me back to my present time. But now I have no further use for you."

With that, she fired several rounds into Kairos, watching in satisfaction as the mysterious figure fell to the floor. The staff, along with the hourglass, fell a few inches away from him.

"Thames," she ordered. "Go and fetch this leaper's staff. It appears to be the source of his time travel capabilities. After I'm finished with Dr. Beckett and his friend, we shall bring it back to headquarters for further study."

As Thames went over to the staff, Zoey fixed her gun on Sam and Al.

"Well Al, this isn't exactly how I thought I would spend my first day back home," confessed Sam.

"Oh don't worry," Zoey reassured him. "You can die knowing you perished for a noble cause. You see, Project Chronos would have never been launched if it hadn't been for your research."

"So that's the name of your little pet project, eh?" Al glared at her.

"Yes, but you and your partner won't live to tell about it," Zoey promised.

"Hey Zoey!" Thames called out.

Zoey sighed. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Something's not right with this staff," Thames told her. "There's nothing scientific or technological about it! It's not installed with any sort of leaping tech!"

"What?" demanded Zoey. "How can that be?!"

"I don't know!" answered Thames. "It's just a staff and an hourglass!"

"Thou art a fool!" a dark voice from behind alerted the observer.

Thames could only stare in shock as Kairos, now back to his feet, grabbed him by the forehead with an inhuman strength and forced him to his knees. With that, a powerful dark aura covered Thames as Kairos held him firmly in place. Slowly, Thames felt the life being drained out of him.

Before long, Kairos held in his hand an old, decrepit man who had been aged far beyond his own natural age. The blackness in his hair had turned white and wrinkles shone all over his face.

At that point, Zoey lowered her gun and turned her attention back to her partner, staring in shock as she watched Kairos drain the life and remaining youth out of Thames.

"Thy efforts were for naught," Kairos informed her, letting go of Thames.

The observer fell to the floor like an aged mummy.

"Zoey… run!" Thames warned her.

"Thou should know thy place!" Kairos kicked the helpless Thames aside.

"What are you?!" demanded Zoey as Kairos moved towards her, Sam, and Al ominously.

"As I have told thee before," Kairos replied. "I am thy beginning and thy end."

Kairos spared a glance at both Sam and Al.

"Begone!" he declared with a wave of his hand, enveloping the two men with a red pulsating energy and making them disappear.

oooo

As Sam opened his eyes, he noticed how he was in the middle of a busy, bustling street. At that point, snow began to fall.

"Al, where did we—" Sam looked around in bewilderment.

Unfortunately, Sam was standing on the road. A large bus came by, nearly running into Sam. Luckily, however, Al was there to pull Sam onto the sidewalk just in time.

"Whew, thanks for the save!" Sam breathed a big sigh of relief.

"Where are we?" Al looked around. "I don't think we need Ziggy's help on this one."

He gestured towards a massive clock tower.

"We're in London, England," Al told Sam. "This is December 25th in the year 2007."

"Then that means," Sam said excitedly.

"You're home, Sam," Al smiled. "Just in time for Christmas."

So overwhelmed by his own return home that he almost completely forgot about Zoey and the mysterious figure known as Kairos, Sam sank to both knees in happiness. As he looked up into the sky, tears poured down his face.

"I'm home!" Sam cried happily. "I'm finally home!"

He finally got up and began shouting at the top of his lungs.

"I'm home!" he shouted again. "I'm back in my own time!"

Several passerbys looked at Sam as if he had gone stark raving mad.

"And you're here with me!" Sam grinned. "My best buddy Al… finally in the flesh!"

He gripped Al and hugged him tightly.

"Whoa careful," Al gasped. "Having trouble breathing, Sam!"

"Sorry," Sam let go. "It's just that I'm so excited to be back!"

"Well save your energy, Sam!" insisted Al. "You're back but you haven't even made it back to your family yet."

"Donna…" Sam recalled. "You're right. I remember now!"

"She's missed you, Sam," Al told him.

"We need to get back!" insisted Sam. "Are there any boats or planes we can take back to America?"

"It could take me a while," Al replied soberly. "I mean, I was transported all the way from an imaging chamber in New Mexico to a foreign country. Boy, customs are really going to have a field day with me!"

"So what do we do first?" asked Sam.

"First things first," Al answered simply. "We check into a hotel. Then I find an ATM to convert my dollars into the local currency…"

oooo

"I don't think you understand," Zoey backed away as Kairos closed in on her with his staff.

"Pray tell," Kairos beckoned. "What is it that I understand not?"

"I… I'm not your true enemy!" insisted Zoey. "The two men you vanquished… they are the ones you want!"

"And yet thou art the one who assailed me," Kairos glared at her.

Thinking fast, Zoey began to make things up on the spot.

"I have," she said. "But it was only to test your magnificent power. And now that I have seen it for myself, I can do no more but humble myself before your eminence!"

Taking the extra step, Zoey bowed down before Kairos on one knee to humble herself.

"Interesting," Kairos stroked his chin. "Thou art the one who freed me from the hourglass?"

"Yes!" lied Zoey. "Yes… I was the one who freed you."

"I should strike thee down where thou stands," Kairos glared at her.

"I realize that, your magnificence," Zoey beseeched, "but I now plead to you for my life with full knowledge of your abilities!"

"Very well," Kairos relented, "thou hast convinced me."

"Thank you, your eminence," Zoey smiled, still bent down on one knee.

"The power of the time staff led me to those who could manipulate time," Kairos told her. "As such, I was led here to thee."

"Well, I would consider myself a time traveler," admitted Zoey. "But being able to manipulate time? Hardly."

Kairos studied her closely. He detected not a single strand of magical potential within her. But yet, he still sensed in her the ability to travel through time.

"The power to affect the realms of time is within mine own power," Kairos told her. "But I sense no magic in thee. How art thou able to traverse through time?"

"Well I can't claim to be a magician," Zoey answered, "but I do possess something that aids me in leaping about through time."

"And what, pray tell, is that?" asked Kairos.

"Science," she smiled.

"Science," Kairos looked at her curiously. "Most interesting."

"So who exactly are you?" asked Zoey. "Another leaper?"

"Leaper?" Kairos scoffed. "I know not what thou speaks of, woman."

"Look, my ability to leap through time is not… magical in nature," Zoey explained. "As I have stated before, science is what enables me."

"Thou must explain to me what this science is," Kairos requested.

"I can and I will," promised Zoey.

"In truth, thou holds much promise," Kairos said, commending her. "I offer thee the chance now to become mine apprentice."

"Apprentice?" Zoey looked pleasantly surprised.

"Yes," Kairos said, raising his hand into the air. "Mine own powers will be thine."

At once, he produced a dagger in his hand. It looked to be of some early medieval design.

"Zoey…" a familiar voice spoke up.

Zoey looked down to see Thames next to her. He was old and decrepit now but still alive. The observer managed to get on both knees and clasp her by the arm.

"Zoey, we have to get out of here!" Thames pleaded.

Without a word, the dagger floated into the air at the command of Kairos. It hovered across thin air until it finally reached the female leaper's left hand.

Realizing the power Kairos held and the possibility that all of it would be hers to command, Zoey stared at the dagger longingly with a blank expression.

"Kill this wretch," ordered Kairos, pointing a bony finger at Thames.

"Zoey, no!" Thames looked at her in fear.

"Shhh," Zoey bent down, putting the knife on the floor. "I would never dream of such a thing."

With that, she embraced Thames in a hug, giving relief to the man finally. However, Kairos smiled as he watched out of the corner of his eye.

Almost without warning, Zoey picked up the knife again and plunged it right into the heart of Thames. The observer looked in shock and agony as his partner twisted the knife into him.

"But I have new dreams now," Zoey informed him, "and I'm about to make them come true."

"Zoey," Thames spat. "You murderous b—"

He did not get to finish his sentence as he spat blood and fell down. Within a few short moments, Thames was no longer among the living.

"Thy task is complete," Kairos nodded approvingly. "Thou art in my services now."

"And I am proud to serve," Zoey turned around, bowing.

"Now," Kairos told her. "I command thee to present to me this… science."

"Very well, your eminence," Zoey agreed. "Come, I don't believe our organization is far from this area."

oooo

"Good news Sam," Al went up towards Sam. "I got our hotel booked and our trip back to America should take place five days from now."

The two men were at a local pub, celebrating Sam's comeback with a warm meal and drinks.

"That's great!" Sam was ecstatic. "Did they make you go through a lot of red tape though?"

"Lucky for me, I made some calls to the right people in America," Al replied. "So in a few short days, we'll get back home safe and sound."

"Then I guess we'd better enjoy the time we have right now," Sam raised a glass. "It's not every day you get to spend Christmas with your best friend in a foreign country."

"No it is not," Al agreed, raising his glass. "A toast?"

"A toast!" Sam smiled. "To the success of Project Quantum Leap!"

"Quantum Leap?" a drunken bald hooligan staggered up towards them. "What's that supposed to be? Some new brandy?"

"Uh no actually," Al corrected him. "It's top secret."

"Top secret?" the drunk hiccupped as a few of his friends gathered around. "Suits me just fine! You know what's not a secret?"

"What's that?" Al asked.

"I don't like 'yer face!" the bald drunken patron took his glass of champagne and splashed it on Al's face.

All of the drunken guy's friends guffawed at what he had done to Al.

"You are really asking for it," Al told the hooligan.

"You gonna give it to me?" the lush taunted.

"Al, he's just trying to bait you," Sam told his friend. "Let's ignore 'em."

"Tonight's your lucky night," Al told the drunken hooligan and turned back around. "For Sam's sake, I'm not going to let a pimple like you ruin my evening."

"Oh come on!" the drunk taunted again, pushing Al from behind. "Let's see what you're made of!"

"Hey, I think you need to learn some manners!" Sam turned around to the drunk.

Before Sam could get up, a larger man in a mohawk came up and put Sam in headlock, squeezing down on the physicist with his big, bulging arms.

"Shut 'yer trap, dweeb!" the hooligan with the mohawk growled at Sam. "You could both use a good pounding!"

In the meantime, the drunken man turned Al around and grabbed him by the collars.

"I'm gonna bloody enjoy this!" the lush declared.

"Alright Al!" Sam squeaked while in the headlock. "Guess we got no other choice!"

As the drunk took a swing at Al, Al blocked it and came back with a punch that knocked the bald drunk back-first onto the floor. Additionally, Sam got out of the mohawk guy's grip and grabbed him by the arm, Judo tossing him onto the hard floor.

"Get 'em!" the other hooligans jumped into the fray.

Two men grabbed Al from the side as a third one began to pummel him. A large redheaded hooligan attacked Sam, punching him across the face two times and sending him careening towards a table.

"Omph!" Sam staggered back, realizing he tasted his own blood in his mouth.

Sam caught himself as he fell onto the table, wiping the blood off his lips. As the redhead came in closer Sam lashed out with his foot and kicked the man in the stomach, making him keel over. As the hooligan held his stomach, Sam grabbed a chair and smashed it over his attacker to take him out.

The quantum physicist then rushed over to help his observer and best friend who was being pummeled by the three men.

Sam quickly grabbed the man who was punching Al in the stomach and spun him around, punching him in the solar plexus. As the attacker grunted in pain, Sam floored him with an uppercut.

Seeing his chance to escape, Al elbowed one of his assailants in the stomach as Sam grabbed the other one and yanked him off of Al. Al took down his attacker with a punch to the jaw while Sam knocked the other one out with a swing kick across the face.

"I can't believe this!" declared Sam.

"Can't believe what?" the now bruised up Al Calavicci looked at him.

"After all these years, I finally get to have a barroom brawl with my best friend by my side!"

"Sam, I know you're excited to be back in your own time and all," Al frowned, "but is it really necessary to—"

"Al!" shouted Sam. "Incoming!"

Now back to their feet, the bald drunk and his mohawked friend charged Sam and Al.

Quickly, both men ducked underneath, grabbing the attackers and flipping them over the bar counter.

"A toast, Al?" Sam grabbed a beer bottle on the table.

"A toast!" Al agreed.

As the two hooligans rose, Sam and Al brought the beer bottles down, smashing it across their foreheads to knock them out for good.

"Aye Carumba!" Al knelt over as Sam helped him up. "I think I might've broken a rib."

"Here Al," Sam helped his friend up. "Let's get back to our hotel room."

Before the two of them could make it to the exit, several policemen entered into the bar with their batons ready.

"Halt!" the chief officer told them. "In the name of the law!"

"Oh boy," Sam exchanged worried glances with Al.

**Author's Note**: The name Kairos is based on the Greek word for time. Along with the word "chronos," they both signify time, except "kairos" refers to a more permanent period of time where everything occurs, rather than sequential time like "chronos" where time is more chronological. Also, with regards to the year this is taking place, my take on the situation is that Project Quantum Leap began in the year 1999. With five seasons, I interpret five years to have passed by with Sam leaping around. And since my fic takes place three years after the series finale, it would bring the grand total of leap years(no pun intended) for Sam to be eight years, by which time, it would be sometime in 2007 for my fan interpretation of this fic.


	5. Winds of Change

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Winds of Change_

"Well, spending the night in jail wasn't exactly my idea of a nice Christmas Day," admitted Sam.

Both men were now locked up in a jailhouse in London.

"Hey, those nozzles at the bar wanted to get down and dirty with us," Al pointed out. "What else were we gonna do?"

"Maybe it was a bad idea to go to a bar," sighed Sam. "We should've just stayed at the hotel and got some early rest."

"Wait for it, Sam," promised Al. "Before we left for that bar, I managed to make contact with an American diplomat here in London. In a few minutes the cops here will allow me to make a phone call and I got his cell number."

"So he'll be able to pull us out?" asked Sam.

"With a little luck, yes," Al nodded. "But I gotta say, us ending up like this didn't exactly do wonders for the reputation that American tourists get in England."

"Ain't that the truth," Sam finally leaned back and lied down on the makeshift bed.

Sam Beckett stared at the ceiling and allowed everything to sink in. He had been brought back to his own time but now he was facing jail time and possibly some other charges as well. Overall, it had not been the reception he had expected for his return home.

Then he remembered the mysterious stranger, Kairos, who had sent him back to his own time.

"Hey Al, remember that guy who sent me back to my own time?" Sam asked his friend.

"Yeah, what of him?" Al leaned against the bars of the cell.

"He was able to send me back to my own time with that staff in his hands," Sam said contemplatively. "I wonder who he really is. And more importantly, how was it that he was able to bend the rules of leaping in order to return me home?"

Al thought about it for a minute before answering.

"Well Sam, remember that time we first encountered a ghost?" asked Al.

"Yeah, it was back in that mansion years ago where I had to save that widow who thought her husband was haunting her," recalled Sam.

"Well, we met that waitress in the house and then later, we found out she had been dead for years," Al swallowed, remembering the ghoulish adventure with a bit of a chill down his spine.

"I remember," Sam nodded.

"Well, we never got to the bottom of that ghost mystery there," Al answered. "Oh yeah, and remember that time you leaped into Egypt? And we saw that mummy there?"

"You saw the mummy," corrected Sam.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Al recalled. "In any case, the mummy strangled that one guy who was trying to kill you. But just like with the ghost lady, the mummy wasn't your mission. Your mission was to save your partner."

"That's right," agreed Sam.

"And there were a few other cases where we encountered events that were out of the ordinary," continued Al. "For instance, we both encountered that UFO during that one leap where you were trying to save an old man from being institutionalized. And there was that leap where you leaped into an Honest-To-God vampire. And let's not forget that one leap in Washington State where the both of us saw Bigfoot!"

"I remember those well," Sam recollected. "At that point, it became harder and harder for me to deny that there were phenomenon that existed well outside the realms of science and logic."

"I guess my whole point is this," Al finished. "The goal of all those leaps wasn't to prove that vampires or Bigfoot existed. It was to save lives. After you completed the mission, it wasn't your goal to worry about a mummy's curse or what Count Dracula is having for breakfast. And as for that warlock with the staff… I don't think he's our concern anymore. Just like with all your leaps in the past, you did your part and completed the mission. Everything else afterwards can take care of itself."

"I suppose you're right, Al," conceded Sam. "I guess I worry too much sometimes."

"What you need to do is relax," encouraged Al. "In a short time, you're gonna be back home! You're gonna get to see Donna again! After all these years of leaping about in time, helping others and putting right what once went wrong, it's time your hard work was rewarded."

oooo

"Here we are," Zoey amiably gestured for Kairos to go ahead of her.

Up ahead of the two travelers was a medieval castle. It stood ominously before them like a dark fortress. But instead of knights at the gates, there were men in uniforms with machine guns.

"Thy graciousness is noted," Kairos walked ahead of her.

"This is where Project Chronos was born," Zoey informed her new master. "To be sure, our origins were humble but soon, under the care of Mr. Vincent Wellington, it became the coordinated scientific research project that we all anticipated."

"This Wellington," asked Kairos. "Is he the time mage who made time travel possible?"

"No actually," replied Zoey. "It was a man named Nathaniel Lothoman who was the originator of Project Chronos. He had a vision for certain but he also required funding. It was Mr. Wellington who became one of his chief sponsors and business partners. And after Dr. Lothoman met a most _unfortunate_ accident, Wellington took over the project and made it what it is today."

"Thy story is most interesting," Kairos said with great interest. "Now let us proceed. I wish to meet Vincent Wellington."

"Right this way," Zoey walked up towards the front door.

"Ma'am," one of the soldiers gave her a nod. "You came back a lot quicker than we had expected."

"I have," confirmed Zoey. "In any case, I've brought a guest with me. "He wishes to meet Mr. Wellington."

"I'm afraid I can't let you in right now," the soldier replied reluctantly. "He's in the middle of a meeting with some very important people."

"And what of my guest?" Zoey spared a glance towards Kairos.

"Whoever he is, he'll have to wait," the guard told her.

"I shalt not wait upon any man," Kairos moved past Zoey towards the guard.

"I'll have to ask you to stay back!" the guard ordered, raising his gun as his partner did the same.

"Put down thy weapon," recommended Kairos. "Thou wilt not regret it."

"This is your last chance to stand back!" ordered the guard. "We can't just let anyone waltz into Project Chronos!"

"Kairos, what are you doing?!" Zoey took a step back, realizing the guards could also hit her with their ammo.

Kairos stopped where he was as the two guards trained their guns on him. Unhooking the hourglass from his time staff, he held the instrument in his hands before his would-be attackers.

"Dost thou understand how the passage of time works?" asked Kairos.

"What does that have to do with anything?" demanded the second guard.

"Seasons come and go," Kairos continued. "Life blooms like a flower and before long, it withers and dies."

With that, Kairos turned the hourglass upside down. The instrument emitted a red glow, catching the two men in a wave of energy. Before long, the two guards found themselves dropping their weapons as their machine guns suddenly felt too heavy to carry any further. Both men sank to their knees as Zoey smiled triumphantly behind Kairos.

Zoey stared in fascination at how the two seemingly spry young men had been aged by up to a hundred years or so by the mere power of the hourglass.

"Now begone!" Kairos shouted, slamming his time staff on to the bridge, this time emitting a wave of energy that reduced the two old men into dust.

"Ashes to ashes," Zoey smiled. "Dust to dust."

"This organization," Kairos asked, "Thou wishes to command it?"

Zoey stared at him in surprise. She had been an ambitious woman for much of her life but this new offer seemed to smack her across the face like a metal glove.

"Why, I'd… like nothing better," Zoey managed to smile.

"Good," Kairos nodded in satisfaction. "I possess no desire to deal with a fool like Wellington who would make us wait. From now on, Project Chronos shall be thine."

oooo

"Sam Beckett!" the US Senator walked up towards the jail cell. "Is that really you?"

Before them was a plump man with white hair and a red nose. He was dressed up in a brown business suit with a green tie to top it off.

"It is," Sam got up. "Have we met before, mister…?"

"Senator O'Neill," the American replied. "I was one of the people in office who approved funding for Project Quantum Leap. We've met before many years ago."

"I remember now," recalled Sam. "You'll forgive me if I didn't recognize you at first. I've been leaping through time for so many years that I've forgotten more faces than I remember."

"It's no problem at all," Senator O'Neill replied. "In fact, I'm happy to learn that your project has become a success and that you've made it back safely."

"Thank you sir," Sam smiled graciously.

"In any case, I've had a discussion with the officials here," Senator O'Neill told them as a guard came up towards the cell with a key. "You'll be released and repatriated back to America shortly."

"Hear that, Al?" Sam grinned. "We're going back home!"

"This is great!" Al was ecstatic. "I bet Beth and the kids are worried sick about me!"

The guard opened up the door as Senator O'Neill helped to usher them out.

"You two are free to go," Senator O'Neill smiled.

"Thank you for your help!" Sam shook the man's hand.

"No problem," O'Neill agreed.

"C'mon, Al!" Sam put his arms around his friend. "Let's get out of here!"

"Good riddance, I say!" Al agreed. "I think I'd rather starve than take another bite out of that prison food they were serving us earlier!"

oooo

Vincent Wellington was a man rich beyond imagination. He was a stocky man with a plain face and light brown hair on his head that was already in the middle stages of receding. On top of that, he wore a black business suit made from the finest fabrics.

Though he had few original ideas of his own, he had a great talent for attaching himself to those people who did possess creative ingenuity and benefiting from the fruits of their inventiveness.

One such person he had associated with in the past was the late Dr. Lothoman. The man wanted to work on a scientific project involving time travel. At first, Wellington had dismissed it as pure science fiction but after being around Nathaniel for a while, he realized that the scientist did indeed have the potential to make it into a reality… provided of course, he had the right funding and resources.

However, as intelligent as Dr. Lothoman had been, his vision of time travel had been very… mundane and technical to say the least. In short, it was not the sort of vision that would have made them rich beyond measure.

And so, after having worked with Lothoman for long enough and learning enough from him to ensure that his "Project Chronos" would be able to continue on even without him, Wellington finally had Lothoman removed from the equation permanently.

But even with Lothoman gone, his blueprints were left behind, in addition to a team of competent scientists who would make sure Project Chronos remained a well oiled machine in the absence of its creator. In honor of the late Dr. Lothoman, Wellington had dubbed the powerful supercomputer that helped to run their project as _Lothos_.

And now? Now he, Vincent Wellington, was potentially the most powerful man in the world, in charge of a weaponized time travel project that had the ability to change the past and alter the present… for whatever price the highest bidder was willing to pay.

Also, he was not alone. In his finely decorated dining hall were a multitude of guests. From black ops agents to corrupt tin pot dictators to rebel extremists in war torn areas of the world, a motley array of colorful guests stood before him. They were a diverse array of scum and villainy, originating from all over the world, from Latin America to Eastern Europe to the Middle East to Asia to Africa.

"Greetings gentlemen," Wellington got up. "I'm quite pleased to have you here with me."

All of his guests began to clap politely.

"Thank you, thank you!" Vincent smile. "I know the reason you are here and I will very pleasantly cut to the chase."

He pressed down on a remote in his hands. As he did, the fireplace behind him slid up to reveal a vast laboratory with multiple scientists working in the background. In the center of the lab appeared to be the quantum accelerator. Not far from it was a door leading to the imaging chamber.

"You are here for Project Chronos," he told his potential customers. "For several millennia, time travel was unheard of. But now, that fantasy has become reality itself."

At this, his guests began murmuring among themselves agreeably.

"Many of you have come from war torn parts of the world," Wellington told his guests, playing upon their emotions and their political ambitions. "Many of you have lost friends and family to your enemies. Many of you are threatened with constant unrest in your homelands with little hope of peace. With the lives you have led, many of you know the true meaning of suffering."

Again, his guests agreed, nodding their heads.

"But with Project Chronos, all of that can change!" Wellington declared to his audience. "Do you remember the rebels who constantly threaten stability in your cities and countrysides? Our agents will traverse through time to eliminate every last one of them! And those soldiers from first world countries who arrived at your shores to kill your sons and ravage your daughters? Our leapers will return to those exact same moments to gun them down where they stand!"

Listening to his promises, the people in his audience began to applaud.

"For the right fee, my scientists in Project Chronos will calculate all possibilities and risks of leaping back in time to those moments," Wellington continued. "And once we have ascertained that our leapers changing your past will not negatively affect any of us in the future, we will journey through time back to the past in order to create a better future for you and your posterity!"

At this point, everybody present was completely in his hands.

"We will make right what once went wrong!" Wellington raised a fist into the air to a thunderous applause.

"Sir," one of the technicians came up to Wellington.

"What is it?" Wellington whispered harshly. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I know sir," the technician told him. "But we still can't find Zoey or Thames. It's like they vanished into time or something."

"Well work faster and find them!" Wellington insisted. "I have customers here with us and I don't want to keep them waiting! Besides, has Zoey even done her duty and killed that priest?"

"I regret to inform you that she has not," the technician lowered his head. "Dr. Sam Beckett stopped her."

"Go back there and retrieve them!" ordered Wellington. "Do whatever it takes to find those two!"

Turning back towards the dictators, mercenaries, weapons contractors, and rebel fighters in the room, Wellington smiled sheepishly.

"I apologize for the interruption," Wellington told them. "But we are facing some minor technical issues. In the meantime, there is plenty of food and refreshments to be had in the ballroom down the hall to our left. What say we enjoy ourselves for the time being?"

Before he could escort his guests out, the front door flung open to reveal Zoey and Kairos besides her.

"Zoey!" Wellington stared at her in surprise. "Is that you? How did you get back?!"

"Well you could say I exploited a loophole in time to get back home," Zoey smiled coyly.

"Who is this with you?" demanded Wellington, glaring at Kairos. "No outsiders are to have access to Project Chronos without my express permission!"

"So sorry to disappoint you," Zoey wagged a finger at him, "but the rules of the game have changed."

"How dare you return without having completed your assignment!" Wellington ground his teeth together. "And more importantly, how dare you undermine this project by bringing strangers back to our base. Guards, seize them!"

At once, over a dozen or so soldiers surrounded Zoey and Kairos as the dictators, rebels, and mercenaries huddled near Vincent Wellington.

"I gave you a place on this project," Wellington told Zoey, "and I can just as easily remove you permanently."

"We shall see," Zoey replied flippantly.

At once, the time staff in Kairos' hands glowed as he raised his other arm, unleashing a powerful wave of quantum energy that knocked every soldier, dictator, and rogue in that room to the floor, including Wellington himself. Zoey herself held onto Kairos in order to avoid the effects of the attack.

Kairos did not let up on the quantum wave, allowing it to continue seeping across the room, inducing vertigo and other hallucinogenic effects on everyone present. Soon, some of the men fell down unconscious while others began to throw up on the spot due to its powerful effects.

Finally, when he was certain that everybody present had been subdued, he stopped his attack.

Wellington managed to get up, weakly crawling on top of the table to steady himself as Zoey walked over confidently.

"As I have promised," Kairos said to her in his raspy voice. "This organization is now thy own!"

Vincent Wellington glared at Zoey with daggers in his eyes.

"What was that phrase those stooges in Washington like to use every time a tin pot dictator is overthrown?" Zoey smiled at her now-previous boss. "Ah yes, I believe a _regime change_ has just now occurred."

She then faced everybody else in the room who were now recovering from the attack launched by Kairos.

"I have a new vision for Project Chronos," Zoey told them. "With our new ally, Kairos, we will no longer be mere leapers! We will unlock the secrets of space and time itself!"

She glanced over at Kairos who gave his assent with a nod of his head.

"Whoever does not wish to join me, speak now or forever hold your peace," she gave everyone a small warning.

Nobody in that room said anything else.

"Good," Zoey turned around towards some soldiers.

Immediately, they straightened up in preparation to obey her requests.

"You there," she commanded. "Take our dear Mr. Wellington and lock him up in the dungeon below."

"At once, ma'am!" the soldiers saluted.

They picked up the weakened Vincent Wellington and cuffed him from behind, taking him out of the room.

"Thou hast done well, mine apprentice," Kairos smiled as she bowed to him with her head.

"Now," Zoey sauntered over towards Kairos, staring at the rest of the technicians, scientists, and assorted rogues in the room, "there are going to be some changes in the way this organization is run. I suggest you all get with the program from this point forward."

oooo

At the London Heathrow Airport, both Al and Sam sat in their designated waiting areas. Before long, they would be able to depart for America.

Right about now, they still had another forty five minutes of waiting time before their flight would take off.

Besides them was Senator O'Neill. The plump man had been most eager to hear of Sam's time travel experiences.

"It sounds like you've had a hell of a time travelling through time," O'Neill told Sam. "How far back in time did you travel exactly?"

"Well," Sam explained. "Originally, the coordinates of Project Quantum Leap were theoretically able to send me back as far as the day of my birth and not a day further. But at one point, I did make a leap back to the Civil War."

Senator O'Neill looked awestruck.

"That… could have changed history if you made one wrong move," Senator O'Neill sputtered.

"I know… crazy isn't it?" smiled Sam.

"Lucky for Sam, he wasn't there to change the outcome of the war," Al added. "He was there to make sure his grand grandfather and great grandmother would get together!"

"This is making my head spin," admitted the Senator.

"But get this," Al told the Senator. "Sam may not have gone back in time to alter the Civil War… but he did end up granting freedom to someone who would have quite an impact on this country."

"Who was it?" asked O'Neill.

"It was the ancestor of Martin Luther King Jr.," answered Al.

Senator O'Neill looked at Sam as if he had just seen a deer in his headlights.

"I know," Sam nodded. "It came just as much of a surprise to me as it did you."

"Flight A3 to Chicago will begin boarding in thirty minute," a woman over the loudspeaker announced.

"That's us," Al looked up.

Their first stop back in America would be at Chicago's O'Hare airport. From there on, they would make the flight back to New Mexico.

"Hey Al, I just remembered!" Sam perked up. "I need to make a call to Donna! Think you could spare me some change for a long distance phone call?"

Al looked at Sam as if he had just asked him to dance naked in Antarctica.

"Are you kidding me, Sam?" Al was flabbergasted. "You know how much they charge for long distance calls? Especially from a foreign country?!"

"C'mon Al," insisted Sam. "I would gladly pay for it with my own money but I just got back from time with no loose change in my pockets!"

"I know that Sam," Al frowned, "but the rates they charge here… it's highway robbery I tell ya!"

"Back before we left for the bar, didn't you make a call to Beth?" asked Sam.

"Hmm, good point," Al nodded. "Well, I guess I could lend you some spare change."

"Thanks Al," smiled Sam.

"But remember, don't go over three minutes!" Al cautioned as he handed the money to his friend.

"You have my word," promised Sam as he got up and jogged towards one of the pay phones.

After inserting the right amount of change and dialing the correct numbers for the long distance service he was about to use, Sam waited patiently on his end of the line.

Finally, a female voice answered.

"Hello?" Donna asked. "Who is this?"

"Donna, it's me Sam," Dr. Sam Beckett answered happily. "I'm finally coming home!"

**Author's Note**: The backstory on Nathaniel Lothoman and Lothos I incorporated into my story was heavily influenced by what I had read on the Quantum Leap Wiki, which stated that Lothos was based on a deceased Dr. Nathaniel Lothoman who created him. Nowhere on the show itself was Dr. Lothoman mentioned so everything I'm writing is based on my own fan interpretation of how everything went down.


	6. The Return

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_The Return_

Hours had gone by since they had left Britain. Throughout the whole flight, Sam Beckett could not fall asleep despite the fact that Al had dozed off for a good few hours. It had been years since he had been in his own time and he was now eager to go back home and meet his wife Donna once more.

Finally, the plane grounded in the desert landing pad in New Mexico.

"This is it, Al!" Sam smiled, nudging his snoozing partner.

"Huh?" Al woke up. "Wuzzat?"

"We're here, Al!" Sam exclaimed. "Back home to where it all began!"

"Home sweet home!" Al agreed, unlocking his seatbelt.

As the passengers got off the plane, Sam and Al walked through the ramp into the passengers waiting section.

There was a welcoming party that greeted them there. There were a few of the technicians who worked on Project Quantum Leap, in addition to Donna, Gooshie, Tina, and Sammy Jo.

"Welcome back, Dr. Beckett!" Gooshie smiled, waving at the two.

"Welcome back, Al!" Tina ran up, hugging the project observer.

"Whoa there!" Al was a bit taken aback by Tina's enthusiasm. "Easy now, I'm a married man!"

"We were just worried, that's all!" Gooshie told the former naval officer. "After all, you vanished in that imaging chamber and somehow ended up in England!"

"You know, that's a funny story actually," noted Al. "And if I told it to you, you'd think I was a real Looney Toon."

As Al briefed the others on his experiences with customs and the law in England, Sam stared at the woman whom he had been married to for all these years but yet, could not be with.

"Donna…" Sam looked at her.

After what seemed like forever, tears flowed down Donna's face as she ran forward to greet him.

"Oh Sam!" Donna embraced Sam. "I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Donna," Sam hugged her tightly.

Finally, the two of them kissed as everyone turned to them. Slowly, Al began to clap as the others followed suit.

oooo

"I must thank you, Kairos," Zoey smiled as she sat comfortably at the dining table with him. "Were it not for you, I would still be leaping from life to life, putting myself at risk just to cause havoc according to Wellington's whims."

Kairos stood next to one of the book shelves, dabbling in one of the many books that were available to him now that Wellington was below in the dungeons.

"No, I must give thanks to thee," Kairos replied in a dark raspy voice as he continued reading one of Wellington's books. "In mine own time, I had planned on putting at my mercy both time and space. But it would seem that such a feat cannot be accomplished by mere sorcery alone. Rather, thou hast led me to a world where the know-how exists to make such a feat possible."

"Yes," Zoey got up. "Speaking of which, from which time era do you hail from?"

Kairos put down the book and stared directly at her. The hood covered most of his face but Zoey could still make out a wrinkled and sallow lower jaw.

"I come from the era known to the people of this present time as the Dark Ages," Kairos informed her.

"What was it like from that bygone era?" asked Zoey. "Modern historians only have fragmented knowledge of that time period at best."

"It was a brutal era," Kairos replied brusquely, "but it is nothing that should concern thee in the present."

"Yes," Zoey agreed quickly, not wishing to agitate him. "We only have the future to look forward to!"

Before the conversation could continue, a soldier entered the room and bowed before the two.

"Ma'am," the soldier addressed her. "The operatives who went to America in order to sabotage Project Quantum Leap have returned."

"Ah yes," Zoey recalled. "It was Wellington who sent them. Let them in."

The soldier bowed and opened the door for Constance and Ramirez.

"Zoey," Constance looked surprised. "I hadn't expected you back so soon."

"Yeah," Ramirez added, staring at Kairos. "Where is Mr. Wellington? And for that matter, who is this guy?"

"Mr. Wellington is no longer acting chairman of Project Chronos as of this moment," Zoey told the two.

"What happened to him?" asked Ramirez plainly.

"He has been permanently replaced," Zoey smiled. "As of this moment, you answer to me."

"You're leading this Project?" Constance was incredulous. "You're not even qualified!"

Zoey snapped her fingers. Immediately, dozens of soldiers entered into the room with their rifles at ready.

"How do you feel about my qualifications now?" asked Zoey.

"They look good to me," Ramirez's eyes widened, realizing now that she was undisputed in her leadership.

"I'm… glad you've moved up on the hierarchy," Constance forced himself to smile. "I look forward to working under you."

"I'm happy to hear that," Zoey told them smugly.

Zoey waved her soldiers away, allowing Constance and Ramirez a brief moment of relief in order to come to terms with the regime change that had just taken place.

"So, how did your mission go?" demanded Zoey.

"Unfortunately the mission was not a success," Ramirez admitted. "We failed to download Lothos into their main core. And we were unable to eliminate the people working on Project Quantum Leap."

"What?" Zoey's voice rose. "Your mission was as simple as could be! How is it that it backfired?"

"We encountered complications along the way," Constance admitted. "One of the workers at Project Quantum Leap was able to alert government forces before we could complete our objectives. Another one of them managed to firewall our attempts to download Lothos into their mainframe."

"But before you get angry," Ramirez said quickly, "we were able to gain a small measure of success!"

"What is that, pray tell?" Zoey asked impatiently.

"One of our men was able to install a spy camera in their base," Constance told her. "Now we can monitor their activities and keep tabs on their project."

"Hmm, perhaps your mission was not a total loss then," Zoey stroked her chin. "You are dismissed."

oooo

"So what was it like working in this setting for all these years?" asked Sam as he entered into the headquarters of Project Quantum Leap.

"Oh, busy, busy, busy," answered Gooshie. "We never knew where your next leap would send you to."

"We didn't exactly get many weekends off either," Al admitted. "Monitoring you was a bit of a full-time job."

"Welcome back, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy, the supercomputer, greeted her creator.

"Ziggy, it's nice to be back," smiled Sam. "Al told me there was an attack on the base while I was gone. You alright now?"

"Oh, I'm quite alright now, Dr. Beckett," the supercomputer replied gleefully. "And we have Sammy Jo Fuller to thank for that."

The young woman next to Sam smiled and waved shyly.

"It's good to have you back, Dr. Beckett!" she said cheerfully.

"Sammy Jo!" Sam exclaimed. "I remember you now!"

In the past, Sammy Jo had been the product of Sam's passionate love affair with the beautiful Abigail Fuller in a previous leap to Louisiana where he had leaped into multiple people in her life. It had come as quite a surprise to him when Al revealed that Sammy Jo was not only his daughter, but also someone who worked with Project Quantum Leap in order to bring him back home.

"Remember me?" Sammy Jo was curious. "But we hardly even got to know each other before you began leaping."

Sam froze. He was unsure if it was a good idea in the here and now to reveal to Sammy Jo that he was her actual father. What if she hated him for not being there for her during her childhood?

With a deep breath, Sam finally decided that he wouldn't tell her his knowledge of her true heritage just yet.

"I, uh, remember you," Sam answered, "because Al told me all about the good work you've done here. It was a stroke of genius, preventing that Lothos virus from downloading itself into our mainframe with your state-of-the-art firewall!"

"I knew when I joined this project that I was signing on to something great… something that would change history," Sammy Jo admitted. "It was almost like destiny."

Sam and Al glanced at each other furtively. Sammy Jo signing on for Project Quantum Leap did indeed appear to be the work of destiny.

"We couldn't be more happy to have you on board," Sam smiled, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Now that you're back, you know what this calls for?" Tina entered the room with several wine bottles. "This calls for a celebration!"

"I agree!" added Gooshie. "A toast to Project Quantum Leap! Hip hip hurray!"

"I need to talk with Al for a second," Sam gestured for Al to come with him. "I'll catch up with you guys soon!"

As everybody else in the room began to partake in their share of food and refreshments Sam and Al entered into a separate room.

"What's up, Sam?" asked Al.

"I was wondering," Sam closed the door behind them. "Now that Project Quantum Leap has been proven to be a success, what comes next?"

"You're not planning on stepping back inside the accelerator again, are you?" Al gaped at him.

"No, no," Sam admitted. "It's just that we still have some of those other leapers out there like Zoey. Even if she's not around anymore, those guys probably have an entire organization dedicated to making wrong what we've made right."

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about them," Al frowned.

"They have the potential to undo all the progress we've made," Sam told his friend. "There's got to be some way to stop them."

"Remember Sam," Al reminded him. "We can only fix the wrongs they've caused with you going back into a life of leaping. Do you really want to go back to that again?"

"At first I told myself that getting home was my first priority," Sam sighed. "But over time, I think I got so used to leaping that it became second nature to me. After a while, it really became my heart's desire to make right what once went wrong. Leaping became my life, Al."

"Wow, you're completely serious, aren't you?" Al asked.

"I guess I am," acknowledged Sam.

"So what do you want to do?" Al was curious.

"I'm not completely sure Al," Sam replied. "This may get Donna really angry and concerned again, but I was hoping Project Quantum Leap could work out a way where I could continue leaping but be able to come back home at the end of the day."

"Kind of like a regular nine to five job?" asked Al.

"When you put it that way, yeah… I guess so."

"What you're asking is risky, Sam," Al pointed out. "Remember that it was only a freak accident that sent you back here. Plus even up to now, we still don't have the technology or the know-how to bring back a leaper… you in this case."

"So what you're saying is…" Sam asked inquisitively.

"What I'm saying is that you shouldn't be in a hurry to leap back in there," Al replied emphatically. "You're back in your own time with your family and friends. Cherish those while you still got 'em."

"You're right Al," Sam conceded. "I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe all those years of leaping around in time have given me a hero complex and I don't know when to switch it off."

"Hey, it's perfectly understandable," Al reassured him. "There have been multiple reports of soldiers coming back to civilian life but yet don't know when or even how to switch off the military side of their personalities."

"Yeah, I just need time to assimilate back into my old life," Sam acknowledged.

"Well you'll have plenty of opportunities for that," Al grabbed on to one of his coats. "You and Donna have got some catching up to do. And speaking of which, I gotta get back home to Beth and the kids. Besides, it's taco night… can't miss that."

"I know," smiled Sam as he shook Al's hand and gave his friend a short hug. "Have a good time with your family tonight, Al."

"You too, Sam!" Al said encouragingly.

oooo

"I don't believe this," Zoey looked at the monitor that had just detailed the interaction between Sam and Al. "Most leapers would give an arm or a leg to return to their own time. And yet, here Sam Beckett is… wanting to go back in time again to give everybody their fairytale endings."

While the soldiers they had sent to sabotage Project Quantum Leap had failed for the most part, they did manage to successfully install a few hidden cameras throughout the lab. Thanks in no small part to that, Zoey had managed to catch the conversation that had gone on between Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci.

As Zoey continued on with her angry rant, Kairos sat there contemplatively, seemingly lost in thought.

"I can't believe the nerve of that fool," Zoey finished. "What is your take on all of this, Lord Kairos?"

"Sam Beckett wishes to continue leading the life he so desires?" Kairos got up. "That may easily be arranged."

With that, he turned and walked down the hall towards the main laboratory of Project Chronos.

"Where are you headed?" Zoey ran up next to him.

"Take me to Lothos," Kairos told her plainly.

"Very well, but what do you need him for?" she asked.

"As thou hast told me before, Lothos is the supercomputer who is able to run this entire organization and its operations," Kairos replied. "I have use for it."

Without another word, Lothos walked towards the supercomputer that housed Lothos and all the information he possessed.

"So what now?" asked Zoey.

Taking hold of the hourglass on top of his time staff, Lothos pulled it off and presented it to the woman.

"Take hold of this," Kairos said to her.

"You want me to hold this?" asked Zoey.

"Thou art mine apprentice now," Kairos informed her. "In order for thou to learn my secrets, thou must become acquainted with the powers which I alone possess."

"Very well then," Zoey took the hourglass in her hand.

"Consider this a present," Kairos put his hand on the hourglass and channeled mystical energy into the device.

Soon, the device shrunk until it was about small enough to be worn. A leather chord appeared across the pendant.

"Wear this, mine apprentice," ordered Kairos, "and the powers of time and space shall be unlocked for thee."

"I thank you, your eminence," Zoey smiled, bowing to her new master.

With the hourglass taken care of, Kairos turned his attention back to Lothos. He raised his time staff high into the air and began chanting.

"_Per vox of sand_," he chanted in Latin, "_per vox of vicis ipsum_!"

At once, red electricity crackled around the sorcerer's time staff. The technicians and workers noticed what was going on and backed away from their work stations as electricity crackled throughout the machines.

"Zoey, what's going on here?" one of the workers demanded.

"Hush now," she smiled. "Let Kairos do his work."

"_Ego voco vos, phantasmis of Lothos_!" Kairos continued. "_Ego voco phantasmis quod infus is per sand!_"

Slowly, the time staff floated into the air as it hovered over the computer that was Lothos. Several memory chips and other assorted metals flew into the air, surrounding the time staff of Kairos.

"_Fio unus per phantasmis of vicis_!" Kairos declared. "_Fio unus per vicis baculus_!"

At that moment, an all-consuming light blinded everyone in the room. However, once everybody got their bearings again, they saw Kairos standing there with the time staff in his hand. Instead of the wooden carved staff they had seen before, the staff was infused with all the attributes of Lothos. Now composed almost entirely of black metal, the time staff now dotted with a red crystal at its top while silvery metallic plating lined the rest of weapon. Advanced circuitry and wiring also showed through some of the plating.

The combination of both technology and the mystic arts was now complete.

"Lothos and the time staff are now one," Kairos declared.

"I have to say," Zoey smirked. "I really admire your handiwork!"

oooo

At their New Mexico compound, Sam and Donna held each other as they gazed up into the stars and stood together near the balcony.

"It's all coming back to me now," Sam recalled. "Now that my brain isn't Swiss cheesed anymore, I remember coming back here before. Then I had to return to save Al. It's true, isn't it?"

"Yes," Donna held on to him tightly.

"I'm sorry Donna," Sam whispered. "I'm so, so sorry putting you through that again."

"You did what you had to do to save your friend," Donna finally acknowledged. "None of us could ask you to do otherwise."

"I've also been with other women during my leaps," Sam admitted shamefully. "During those times, I had no idea I was married. Why couldn't Al have just told me?"

"Because if he had, you wouldn't have been able to complete your mission," Donna told him reluctantly. "I was the one who told him not to tell you."

"You did?" Sam looked at her quizzically. "Why?"

"Because if you knew that you were married," Donna explained to him, "and the mission required you to romance a certain woman, would you have done it? Would you have been able to leap out of there and gotten one step closer to coming home?"

Sam looked down momentarily, reflecting on what she had said.

"No," he admitted. "I couldn't have done it. If I remembered my marriage to you, there's no way I would have had relations with any other woman. And I wouldn't have been able to leap if romance had been part of my mission."

"You did what you had to do to leap," Donna told him with an understanding look. "As much as it pained me to know there were other women in your life, I also knew that in order for you to come home, sacrifices had to be made."

"I did what I had to do," Sam told her. "But it wasn't truly what I wanted."

He caressed her face.

"I wanted to be with you," he said gently.

"Oh Sam!" Donna cried as tears poured down her face.

"Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?" he asked, hugging her.

"Yes!" she embraced him. "I love you, Sam Beckett!"

"And I love you, Donna Eleese-Beckett!"

The time for talk had passed. Sam clasped her face and entered into a deep heart-felt kiss with his wife.


	7. Relapse

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Relapse_

"Good morning everyone," Sam, alongside Donna, walked into the room where most of the leaders of Project Quantum Leap sat.

"Morning Sam," Gooshie waved.

Al, Tina, Gooshie, and Sammy Jo were all there. Though Sammy Jo ranked lower on the workplace totem pole than the rest of them, she was still included since she played an instrumental role in defending the base in recent times.

That, plus she was Sam Beckett's biological daughter.

"Well, I think we all know why I'm calling this meeting," Sam looked at everyone across the room.

"I have a general idea," Al crossed his fingers together.

"Now that Quantum Leaping has proven to be a success," Sam told everyone, "I want to discuss the future of this project."

Sam looked around the room once more.

"Who'd like to start?" he asked.

Gooshie was the first to speak up.

"First things first," Gooshie admitted. "Running an experimental project like this for years required a lot of funding and support. We're indebted to a lot of Senators right now and if this project is to have any kind of future, we're going to need a much bigger budget."

"How much did Project Quantum Leap cost altogether?" asked Sam curiously.

"Well, uh…" Gooshie tugged a bit at his collar while sweating nervously.

"Go on, tell him!" Tina insisted.

"Sometimes it's better to show than to tell," Gooshie took out a several documents and then handed them over to Sam.

Sam took a cursory glance at how much money it took to maintain the project. And as expected, the cost was astronomical.

"Oh boy!" Sam's jaw dropped.

"It wasn't cheap Sam," Al reminded him. "But remember, we were able to do a lot of good with Project Quantum Leap."

"I, uh, think we should move on to our next topic," Sam smiled sheepishly. "What comes next?"

Al was the next person to speak up.

"Well, now that Quantum Leap is a proven success, there are going to be politicians and powerful lobbying groups who are going to be eager to make claims to this project," Al pointed out.

"We can't exactly auction this project off to the highest bidder," Sam frowned.

"Exactly," agreed Al. "And who knows what one of those big wigs in office will want to do with this Project."

"When word gets out that Project Quantum Leap can change history," Sam said soberly, "there are going to be a lot of people lining up to try to make that happen."

"Those people already exist," Al shook his head. "We've already got that other leaping project out there, based on the research and work of Dr. Lothoman."

"What will we do about them?" asked Sammy Jo. "They've already made an attack on our base. There's no telling what they might do next."

"We could always hire more security?" Tina suggested.

"Not with the budget we're running on these days," Gooshie sighed.

"What is there to do then?" asked Sammy Jo.

"We wait and see," Sam told her. "That's about all we can do right now."

"I have another issue to bring up," Sammy Jo glanced around at everyone.

"Go on," Sam nodded.

"Will we ever send another test subject into the accelerator again?" asked Sammy Jo. "After everything Dr. Beckett's been through, it could take years to bring them back. And in Dr. Beckett's case, it was only a freak accident that brought him back, not by any breakthrough on our part."

Al looked over at Sam who appeared to be a bit nervous.

"I… don't know," Sam admitted. "While this project has done a lot of good for a lot of people through history, there are a lot of other factors to consider. And before we even think about sending another person into the accelerator, we need to conduct further research to make sure we've covered all our bases."

oooo

Zoey and Kairos sat before the monitor that highlighted the base for Project Quantum Leap in New Mexico, made possible by the spy camera installed there by their agents. Watching with great interest, she noted that Sam Beckett was now having a meeting regarding the future of Project Quantum Leap.

"So now he realizes there's no going back with leaping being a reality," she sneered.

Kairos merely snorted.

"The man creates a Pandora's Box, opens it, and now he's just realizing the dangers?" Zoey smiled. "As smart of a man Dr. Beckett may be, he really doesn't give much forethought to the things he does."

"The idealism of his nature can be turned against him," Kairos noted. "Despite the hardships he has faced through his leaping, he has never truly known suffering. Soon, Samuel Beckett will realize that he has walked down a path from whence he can never return."

"What will you do now?" asked Zoey.

"I have read up enough on this Sam Beckett," Kairos answered. "I only ask of thee now to depart from here and wait upon me in the lower levels. I shall take care of the rest."

"Very well," Zoey bowed, leaving the room.

oooo

"Well that meeting went well," Sam stood in the central room with Donna.

Everybody was outside, preparing to go to lunch. In a few moments, he and Donna would join them as well.

"You did the best you could with the circumstances," Donna reassured him. "You just got back and we're all trying to figure out what to do with all this knowledge we have."

"I know," Sam smiled weakly. "I've finally gotten home and I should be happy! Instead, my mind's bogged down by all these concerns over the ethics of this project and how it might be misused later on!"

"There may be future challenges," Donna reminded him. "But we can face them together!"

"You're right," Sam acknowledged. "I really just need to get my head back together, that's all."

"You know I'm here for you, Sam!" Donna told him.

"I guess I'm like one of those soldiers who just came back from a war," Sam told her. "I've been leaping around for so long, I don't know what living a normal life is like anymore."

"I can help you back into it," insisted Donna. "_We_ can help you back into it! I can help you. Your friend Al can help you. We can do it together!"

"Thanks Donna," Sam hugged her. "I know I can count on you."

"You know you can," she smiled back.

"Why don't you catch up with the others?" Sam told her. "I got some catching up I want to do with Ziggy."

The two kissed each other and Donna left the room to join the others.

"Ziggy?" Sam called out. "You there?"

The blue orb that was Ziggy's brain glowed as the supercomputer came to life.

"I'm here at your beck and call, doctor," she told him.

"That's good to know," Sam smiled.

"It's also good to see you back home," Ziggy told him. "Donna looked especially happy to see you again."

"It's great to be home," Sam replied.

"What is it that you'd like to speak to me about?" asked Ziggy.

"Back when I was still leaping, you were able to calculate a lot of probabilities for me," Sam told her. "In all this time, I don't know if you ever got upgraded to calculate probabilities outside of past events."

"You mean to ask me if I can calculate probabilities in the present?" asked Ziggy.

"More or less," Sam confirmed.

"That ability… remains outside my scope," answered the supercomputer. "Calculating probabilities for changing the past was my specialty. With past events, I had enough information from newspapers, historical archives, and other reliable sources that I could safely predict the probabilities of changing history."

"I see," Sam nodded.

"I cannot predict the future, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy concluded.

"Well alright," Sam shrugged. "Thanks anyways, Ziggy."

"You wish to protect this project against future incursions or abuses?" asked Ziggy.

"Yeah, it's been on my mind," replied Sam. "You never know when one of those leapers from that other project will show up."

Suddenly, Sam found himself surrounded by a familiar blue aura for a second.

"What was that?" Sam looked at his own hands in alarm.

"I am uncertain," Ziggy replied. "But it would appear that for a moment, you were surrounded by the same aura that you had back when you were leaping through time."

"No, this can't be," Sam said in a worried tone. "I just made it back to my own time!"

Again, the blue aura appeared around him once more.

"Ziggy, what's going on here?" demanded Sam.

"Unfortunately, I do not have the answer, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy answered truthfully.

"Ziggy, trace all quantum particles for this aura," Sam ordered. "If I leap out of here again, I want the others to—"

Those were the final words Sam were able to get out before the aura completely covered him and leaped him out of the area.

oooo

Vincent Wellington sat in his jail cell despondently, rocking back and forth against the wall. He had gone from being one of the world's most dangerous and powerful men to a mere prisoner in only a short time.

If anyone was to blame, it was that wretched Zoey. She had been the one who brought that stranger back and overthrew him. In time, he needed to figure out a plan to escape. Then he would find a way to seize back control of his organization.

The sound of gunfire and screams down the hall was heard before long as Wellington perked up his head.

"Mr. Wellington?"

Right in front of his cell were two soldiers who had previously served under him before his ignominious overthrow.

"Constance!" Wellington cried out. "Ramirez! What are you two—"

"We're getting you out of here, sir," Constance told his boss. "You're the real boss of this project and you're the one we answer to."

"It's good to see not all of my soldiers have lost their marbles," Wellington smiled.

Ramirez took out the keys to the jail cell and opened it up. As Wellington stepped out, he noticed the bodies of several other soldiers lying on the floor.

"Zoey may be calling the shots now… but she's crazy!" Ramirez told his boss. "You, Mr. Wellington, have a better head on your shoulders than she does, which is why you're the one who headed this project for all those years and not her."

The three of them headed down the hall. Constance took the front lead ahead of Wellington while Ramirez guarded his rear.

"First things first," Ramirez told his superior. "We need to overthrow Zoey and that weirdo she's hanging out with. Then we reinstall you back to power."

"Sounds like an agreeable plan," Wellington nodded. "How will we execute it?"

"Oh, you won't," a familiar voice rang out.

Just as the three men got to the staircase, they saw Zoey standing before them with a devious grin.

"I'll be executing you," she promised them.

"Zoey, just the person I was hoping to bump into," Constance took out his handgun.

Not bothering to exchange any more words, Constance fired several rounds into Zoey, knocking her against the wall. As Zoey slid down the wall with blood pouring down her dress, Constance chuckled.

"Now for that weirdo upstairs," Constance snorted.

Without warning, Zoey sprung back to life, seemingly floating back on her feet.

"What the hell?" Constance took a step back.

The hourglass necklace around her neck glowed softly as Zoey placed her hands over her wounds, healing them instantly and causing the bullets to fall out onto the ground. In no time at all, the life threatening wounds Constance had inflicted upon her fully disappeared.

"Protect Mr. Wellington at all costs!" Constance ordered.

Ramirez took out a knife and charged Zoey. As he swung down, Zoey caught his arm and grabbed his face with her other hand.

At once, the hourglass began to glow once more as Zoey slowly drained the life force out of Ramirez. The soldier could do nothing but scream and struggle helplessly as he felt himself age and wither while he was being held down.

"That was rejuvenating!" Zoey finally let go of Ramirez.

Now reduced to nothing but a withered corpse, Ramirez fell to the ground lifelessly. At the same time, both Constance and Wellington saw before them a much younger and rejuvenated woman without the wrinkles and sagging face that Zoey once possessed.

"You're younger now," Wellington was taken aback by both her beauty and ruthlessness. "How?!"

Zoey ignored Wellington and walked past him, advancing menacingly towards Constance who raised his gun towards her.

"I've read up on your genealogy," Zoey told Constance in a much younger voice. "It seems that the men of your family are prone to heart attacks around the age of fifty."

With that, she raised her hand and enveloped him with a dark red energy. At once, Constance clutched his chest as an immediate pain came upon him.

"Aging your heart about thirty years should do the trick," she smiled.

"Aaaagh!" screamed Constance as he fell to the floor, dropping his gun.

After several moments of thrashing about wildly and breathing heavily, Constance stopped moving. His heart was no longer able to bear the pain. And neither was his body.

Looking on in horror, Wellington backed away from Zoey as she stood over the fresh corpse of Constance.

"You," Zoey commanded Wellington. "Back in your cell!"

"But…" Wellington stood there, nearly speechless.

Before Wellington knew it, Zoey had lifted him up and smashed him against the wall. Whatever the source of her newfound strength and power was, it was most certainly unnatural.

"I'm free to deal with insurrectional soldiers on my own," Zoey reminded him. "However, Kairos had given me no such orders to execute you just yet. Now be a good lad and return to your cage."

Defeated, Wellington could not do anything other than to follow her orders. With his shoulders sunken low, Vincent Wellington headed back to his cell as Zoey watched with a satisfied smirk.

oooo

After the blue light that enveloped him had finally disappeared, Sam looked up and noticed that he was on the tower of a castle out in the middle of nowhere.

"Where am I?" he looked around.

From out of the shadows emerged a familiar figure Sam had seen before.

"You!" Sam exclaimed. "You were the one who brought me back to my own time!"

"I was," Kairos replied.

"Just who are you?" asked Sam.

"Mine name is Kairos," the robed figure replied. "I am the one thou may know as the gatekeeper of time."

"Gatekeeper?" Sam asked. "You mean… you're Father Time?"

"I am," Kairos lied. "I brought thee back to thy own time because of the sacrifices thou has made for others in all thy leaps."

"Well then Kairos," Sam sighed. "I suppose there's a reason why I've been leaped once again?"

"Yes," confirmed Kairos. "It had been mine intention to send thou back to thy own time. However, I am now an old and frail man and my powers over time are not what they used to be."

"I, uh, I'm sorry to hear that," Sam frowned.

"But thou can help me," Kairos put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "I fear I have not much time left in this mortal coil. With thy infinite knowledge of time travel, thou can aid my efforts in stabilizing time and space. The magic I possess alone will not suffice."

Suddenly, Kairos leaned over and began to cough violently.

"Hey," Sam went over quickly to help Kairos up. "Are you alright?"

"Fear not," Kairos shook his head. "As a time mage, I have seen much over the course of history. However, not even I can fight against the sands of time."

"Here, let me help you walk," Sam told him.

"I thank thee, Sam Beckett," Kairos smiled underneath his hood.

"What is that in your other hand?" Sam inquired about the staff in Kairos' hand.

"It is the time staff," Kairos informed him. "It is the source of mine power. But even now, it dims with each passing moment."

"Let's get you downstairs for hopefully some rest," Sam steadied the body of Kairos alongside his own, helping the elderly time mage to walk down the steps.

"I shalt do everything within my power to aid you in returning to thy home," promised Kairos.

"Thanks," Sam responded. "Oh yeah, speaking of which, whatever became of that woman Zoey and her partner?"

"Those two have received just compensation for attempting to wreak havoc across time," Kairos replied in a stern voice.

oooo

"I'm sorry," Ziggy replied. "But Dr. Beckett has not travelled back in time."

After having realized that Sam wasn't coming out, the gang had returned only to find that Sam Beckett was no longer there amongst them. Unfortunately for them, Ziggy had immediately informed them that Sam had been surrounded once more by the leapers' aura and had disappeared once more.

"Are you sure?" asked Al. "Everything checks out?"

"Affirmative," confirmed Ziggy.

"Where could he have gone to?" Donna paced back and forth. "I've had to live for years without him and now that he's finally back, he gets taken from me again!"

"Don't worry Donna," Al went up to her. "We'll get to the bottom of this!"

"Before Dr. Beckett was leaped away, he ordered me to trace the particles of the leapers aura that surrounded him," Ziggy explained to them.

"And?" asked Al Calavicci.

"I can confirm with ninety nine point six percent certainty that Dr. Beckett has not leaped back in time," Ziggy replied matter-of-factly.

Donna bit down on her lower lip nervously, wondering where in the world her husband had disappeared to.

"Wait," Sammy Jo entered into the conversation. "What if we're not looking in the right place?"

"What do you mean?" asked Al.

"Ziggy's scans so far haven't shown him to be back in any era of the past," Sammy Jo told them. "What if Dr. Beckett wasn't transported to the past?"

"So you're saying that Sam could be…" Al looked at her curiously.

"He could have been transported to another location outside of this base," Sammy Jo explained. "For all we know, he could have been transported back in his old childhood home… another part of the country… or even another part of the world."

"Is this a plausible explanation?" Al looked at Donna, Tina, and Gooshie.

"It's… the only one we have," Gooshie conceded. "I mean, if Ziggy can't locate Sam in any era of the past, it would only make sense he'd still be here somewhere."

"Ziggy," ordered Al. "Run a scan based on the quantum particles Sam left behind. Scan the entire perimeters of this base… then the State… then the country… then the whole damn continent if you have to."

"I will do my utmost best," promised Ziggy. "However, I must inform you that such a search and scan mission will be quite time consuming in order to fully gauge the whereabouts of Dr. Beckett."

"This is Sam we're talking about," Al replied without hesitation. "When it comes to him, we can and we will make time!"


	8. Union

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Union_

"Zoey?" one of the soldiers of Project Chronos appeared before her.

Zoey had been pacing back and forth in the dungeon, growing ever so bored with the request Kairos had made for her to stay out of the line of sight of a certain Sam Beckett.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Are you able to come upstairs?" the soldier asked. "You might want to see this. It involves Project Quantum Leap's observer."

"Really now?" Zoey was curious.

She looked down at the remains of both Constance and Ramirez.

"Thank you gentlemen ever so much for installing those hidden cameras," she told them wistfully.

"Ma'am?" the soldier asked.

"Ah yes," Zoey turned back to him. "I know Kairos wanted me to remain scarce but however, I think now is the time for a little test run."

"Test run?" asked the guard.

Zoey gripped the hourglass on her necklace as a dark purple energy overcame her, enveloping the entire place in a dark gray color. At once, the soldier stopped moving and stood there perfectly motionless.

"Excellent," Zoey said to herself. "This hourglass responds to my will. Won't have to learn any lengthy spells under this apprenticeship..."

She walked forward, pausing only when she had gone past the guard. At that point, she adjusted the hourglass on her necklace once more, allowing time to flow again.

"Zoey?" the soldier blinked. "Where did—"

"Right behind you," Zoey smiled.

The soldier turned around nervously.

"What just happened?" he asked.

However, just as he saw her, Zoey just as quickly vanished into the air once more.

"What the…" the soldier muttered.

oooo

"This is a big castle you've got," Sam said, admiring the walls, the tapestry, and the decorations of the place.

"Indeed, it is magnificent," replied Kairos.

At this point, Kairos had steadied himself and began walking on his own once more, aided only by the time staff.

"So, uh, who does this castle belong to anyways?" asked Sam.

"It belonged to the knaves of Project Chronos," Kairos replied plainly.

"What?!" Sam was taken aback. "This is the secret base of the evil leapers?"

"Fear not," Kairos said reassuringly. "For their multitude of crimes against time and space, they have justly been punished."

"So you came in and took them down all by yourself?" Sam was surprised. "That's great! This is one less group of people in the world I'll have to worry about."

"They are thoroughly subdued," Kairos told Sam. "However, because my power weakens, I still require thy help in stabilizing the timelines that they have so thoroughly tampered with."

"I'll do what I can to help," promised Sam. "I mean, you are Father Time after all."

"I am grateful for thy help," Kairos tilted his head. "Thou art a good man, Sam Beckett."

"What do we have to work with?" asked Sam as they walked down another corridor.

Kairos used the time staff, now fused with Lothos, to open up a door that revealed a technologically advanced engineering room that rivaled Project Quantum Leap in almost every way.

"The tools thou require lay here," promised Kairos.

oooo

Zoey was no stranger to time travel. However, to have mastery over time was a completely different matter. Everything seemed to stay perfectly still as she moved as quickly as lightspeed towards her destination.

It was as if absolute power had fallen into her very hands.

On the way, however, she noticed something and stopped quickly. Now frozen in time was Sam Beckett along with Kairos. The two of them looked to be walking side by side seemingly discussing something of importance.

"Oh you have no idea what lies in store for you and your friends," Zoey smiled, turning back to her task at hand.

Wasting no further time, she entered into the main engineering room, entering back into the timestream and surprising a lot of the technicians with her sudden appearance.

"Zoey!" one of the technicians gasped. "How did you get here?"

"Nevermind how," Zoey brushed aside his question. "What do we have on Quantum Leap's observer?"

"He and a female scientist are in a discussion on Dr. Beckett's whereabouts," one of the higher ranking officers told Zoey. "They've isolated the factors of time travel and leaping. Now they've deduced that he's somewhere back in their own time."

"Unacceptable!" Zoey frowned. "Officer, how many operatives do we have back in America?"

"Four or five remain there," the officer confirmed.

"I want you to contact them," ordered Zoey. "Tell them they have new orders."

"Alright," the officer agreed. "What would you have them do?"

"Kidnap the one named Al Calavicci," Zoey ordered. "And bring him here with as little noise as possible."

"What if his friend finds out?" asked the officer.

"We keep this as hushed up as possible," Zoey reminded him. "Besides, it won't be long before Dr. Beckett's services will no longer be required. And when that time comes, I want him and his blasted observer to die together."

"Understood," the officer complied. "I'll get right on it."

At that moment, the door opened up to reveal Sam Beckett and Kairos.

"The tools thou require lay here," Kairos told Sam Beckett.

"So this is Project Chronos, huh?" Sam looked around the area.

To his amazement, the project was every bit as advanced as Project Quantum Leap, albeit with a bigger room and bigger staff. For Sam, it was a shame that much of this project had been wasted on trying to transform history for the worse.

Soon, Sam's wandering eye settled on Zoey.

"Hello Dr. Beckett," the now younger Zoey approached him. "I don't believe I've had the honor."

"Hi there," Sam did not recognize her. "And who might you be?"

"My name is Dawes," Zoey lied, coming up with an alias on the spot. "Miranda Dawes. I was one of the senior advisors working for this project under Vincent Wellington who was a dreadful man. Fortunately for us, this man Kairos put a stop to his mad plans."

Sam took her hand and shook it.

"Say, don't I know you from somewhere?" asked Sam.

For some reason he could not pinpoint, 'Miranda' felt strangely familiar to him, as if he had met her before. But then again, he had seen many faces before travelling through time. And sometimes, those faces tended to blend together. Still, he could not shake the feeling of déjà vu as he stared into the young red haired woman's eyes.

"I don't believe we have," Zoey smiled. "However, your reputation does precede you. Before that loathsome Wellington took full control of this project, Dr. Lothoman was the one who initiated Project Chronos. Much of his work on this project was based on the research you had conducted."

"So I've heard," Sam nodded. "It's a shame I never got to meet Dr. Lothoman. I bet he was a brilliant scientist."

"Dr. Beckett, if thou wishes, thou may familiarize thyself with this project," Kairos told him.

"Sounds good," Sam agreed.

"You there," Zoey ushered in one of the scientists. "Show Dr. Beckett around, would you?"

"Right away," the scientist agreed. "Come on, Dr. Beckett, let's get you a good tour of this place."

As Sam walked off with the scientist, Kairos looked at Zoey with great interest.

"Thy appearance is not as it once was," noted Kairos. "But I know thou art the same women I took as mine apprentice."

"Well?" Zoey asked. "Have I done a good job or what?"

"Indeed thou has," agreed Kairos.

Even he was impressed at how quickly Zoey had mastered a few basic controls of the magical hourglass that hung around her neck. Still, she had a long way to go and he was not about to share all his secrets with her so fast.

"I alerted our remaining agents in America to kidnap the observer and bring him here," Zoey whispered to Kairos.

"Tell me, who else is Sam Beckett close to?" asked Kairos.

Zoey smiled. "I'll go find out."

oooo

"Ziggy, is the scan complete?" asked Al.

He and Sammy Jo Fuller were working overtime at Project Quantum Leap. The two of them sat at one of the tables. Several Burger Kings bags and half-eaten burgers lay scattered across it. Due to the long hours they were putting in, they did not exactly have the time for gourmet food.

"Affirmative," Ziggy replied. "Scans show that Dr. Beckett's quantum particles do no register anywhere on the North American continent."

"Great," Al shook his head. "Sam's on another continent then."

"Mr. Calavicci?" Sammy Jo told him as she looked at the supercomputer's databanks.

"Just call me Al," the former naval officer told her. "No need for formalities here."

"Ziggy's power cells are getting low," Sammy Jo informed the former naval officer. "We'll have to shut her down for the night."

"She is correct, Admiral Calavicci," said Ziggy. "Another routine scan outside of the North American continent could take up to hours. And they are hours that my current energy levels cannot support."

"But Sam is still out there," Al looked despondent.

"I know," Sammy Jo put a hand on Al's shoulder. "We'll find him. I promise. But right now you need rest. Plus you need to be with your family."

"That's right," Al muttered tiredly.

"We'll start looking for him first thing tomorrow," promised Sammy Jo.

"I'll… be here first thing in the morning," Al finally conceded.

"Good night, Al," Sammy Jo told him as Al grabbed his coat.

"Night Sammy Jo," Al waved, heading out of the lab.

Soon, he found himself out in the cold night sky, walking towards his car.

"Sammy Jo… you really are your father's daughter," Al whispered.

oooo

"Hey… Kairos?" Sam Beckett entered into the chambers of the time mage.

"Dr. Beckett," Kairos got up from his chair. "Pray tell, what might I do for thee?"

"Well, I just remembered," Sam told him. "How long have you been keeping watch over time?"

"Since the dawning of the era known to modern man as the Dark Ages," Kairos replied.

"Wow," Sam was amazed. "You were alive for that long, huh?"

"It was a brutal era," confessed Kairos. "I had seen much suffering and injustice during mine own time. More than anything, I desired to make right all that had gone wrong. Finally, the opportunity came to me."

"Well, I figured that since we both come from different time eras, there are a lot of things we could learn from each other," Sam told him enthusiastically.

"Thou art correct," agreed Kairos. "There is much knowledge from this modern era to be gleaned."

"I don't know what the concept of time was like in your era," Sam told him. "But in the present, time has practically been quantified and measured out as a science. With your powers and the scientific knowledge to back it up, we could work together to find some way to mend the time-space continuum."

"Yes, yes," Kairos assented. "It is the only possible—"

Without warning, the time mage leaned over and began coughing violently. Quickly, Sam Beckett got up to help him.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"I have endured worse," Kairos finally spoke, catching his breath.

"We need to get you to a hospital bed," Sam helped the time mage sit back into his chair.

"That won't be necessary," a female voice announced.

The door opened up to reveal Zoey, otherwise known to Sam as Miranda Dawes. In her hands she carried a silver tray with two teacups and a teapot on it.

"This is the herbal tea you requested," Zoey put down the silver tray on the stand next to Kairos' chair.

She then turned to Sam to explain.

"This tea helps to soothe his nerves," she told the physicist.

"Yes, I thank thee for thy hospitality," Kairos nodded.

"Is there anything else you need?" asked Zoey.

"That will be all," Kairos waved her aside.

After Zoey left the room, Kairos took the pot and poured some tea for himself. Clearing his own throat, he downed the warm liquids. After that was done, he poured some additional tea in the second cup at hand.

"I offer thee my hospitality," Kairos gestured towards the cup he had poured for Sam Beckett.

"Alright, thanks," Sam got up and picked up the cup.

Truth be told, he was honestly more in the mood for coffee than tea. But it would have been rude to turn down the time mage's offer.

However, after taking a sip, Sam decided that his initial reluctance wasn't so warranted after all.

"Mmm, this is pretty good," Sam smiled. "What's in it?"

"Tis a mix," Kairos explained. "The tea is filled with rose, hibiscus, lemongrass, and antioxidants."

The sweet aroma swirled all around Sam, triggering a euphoric feeling throughout his entire body.

"The taste is… wonderful," Sam's eyes began to slowly close up.

Soon, the scenes and aroma surrounded Sam. Kairos raised up his hand in a gesture, allowing the aroma to surround Sam in a tight ball before vanishing. At that point, Sam Beckett opened his eyes again.

This time, however, Sam's eyes looked almost glazed over, as if he was in a hypnotic trance.

"I enchanted the tea with a truth spell," Kairos told him, "taught to me by mine own mother. After the spell wears off, thou shalt remember nothing of this conversation."

"I understand," Sam replied robotically.

"Who art thou, Sam Beckett?" asked Kairos. "Reveal to me thy life's story and how thou discovered the properties of time travel."

"My name is Samuel Beckett," Sam spoke as if in a trance. "I was born on August 8th, 1953. My parents were John Samuel Beckett and Thelma Louise Beckett. I had an older brother Tom and a younger sister Katie."

"Continue," Kairos gestured.

"I was raised on farm in Indiana but before long, I knew that wouldn't be the life for me," Sam continued. "But before I left, my brother Tom was killed in the Vietnam War. And at the age of seventeen, my sister Katie ran off with an alcoholic who abused her."

"I see," Kairos' voice softened. "A life marred by tragedy…"

"I always told myself that if I could ever go back in history to right any wrongs, I would do it for my brother and sister," Sam confessed.

"Yes, and how would thou accomplish such a daunting task?" Kairos asked eagerly.

"After I graduated high school, I enrolled at MIT where I came up with the String Theory with a teacher named Professor LoNigro.

"Explain," Kairos ordered.

"The String Theory was what I came up with that inspired me to create the time travel project known as Quantum Leap," Sam continued on, seemingly oblivious to all that he was giving away. "It was best represented by a string. A string would have two ends, except in this case one end represents birth while the other end represents death. Tie the ends together and you would form a loop. And because all the days of your life touch each other, I realized that I could theoretically leap from one day to another in my own lifetime."

Kairos sat there, fascinated by what the man was telling him.

"Samuel Beckett," Kairos told him. "Thou must tell me everything about Project Quantum Leap. Dost thou understand?"

"I understand," Sam Beckett nodded almost dreamily before continuing.

oooo

Pulling up to his driveway, Al Calavicci parked his car and got out.

It had been a long day and by now, Beth and his daughters were most likely asleep. Fortunately, he had told them beforehand that he would be home late.

It was not often that he came home during the after-hours but in this case, a special exception had to be made for his friend Sam.

As Al got out, he heard his cell phone ringing. He picked it up from his pocket and saw that the call was from Gooshie.

"How'd it go?" asked Gooshie.

"So far not good," confirmed Al. "Sammy Jo and I still weren't able to locate Sam."

"So he's not in the country anymore, is he?" Gooshie inquired.

"No, he's somewhere outside," Al replied. "Tomorrow Ziggy should have enough backup power to conduct a wider scan."

"Alright, well I have to get back to Tina," Gooshie acknowledged. "Have a good night, Al."

"You too Gooshie," Al responded and hung up on his cell phone.

As he raised his head, he saw a black ops soldier standing right in front of him.

"Al Calavicci, you're coming with us," the soldier stated plainly.

Before Al could muster a response, another soldier came in from behind, grabbing Al from behind and placing a black leather bag over his head. The soldier in front of Al then took out a baton with an electric charge at its tip and thrust it into Al's stomach, administering an electrical shock that knocked him out completely.

"Good job," the soldier with the baton told his partner. "Now let's get him in the car with the other prisoner."


	9. Secrets Revealed

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Secrets Revealed_

Al was not fully aware of what had just happened. But it seemed as if a good portion of time had passed him by.

As soon as he became conscious, he realized that he was bound and gagged with a mask of some sort over his head. At once, the two men carrying him removed it to reveal what appeared to be a prison cell in some kind of dungeon.

"What the—" Al came to his senses slowly.

The two men took off his cuffs additionally and then shoved him inside the jail cell. After they closed it, they stepped back, grinning at Al.

"You nozzles had better let me out of here!" warned Al.

"Or you'll what?" a young woman's voice spoke out.

Al saw before him a young redheaded woman in a black dress. Something about her demeanor seemed familiar. During his bachelor days, he would have no doubt made a move on her but now, Al knew better than to let a pretty face distract him now that he had Beth by his side.

"And who might you be?" asked Al.

"You don't recognize me?" asked Zoey with a smile.

"Should I?" asked Al.

"You should," Zoey replied. "Especially after all you, Sam, and I have been through."

"Hmph," snorted Al. "I've never seen you in my life. And you mean to tell me you know me and Sam?"

"Instead of telling you, let me show you," Zoey told him.

Gripping the mystic hourglass around her neck, Zoey aged herself back to her natural age, allowing Al to see her for who she really was.

"Zoey!" Al gripped the bars of the cell.

After allowing Al to see her for her true nature, Zoey transformed herself back to her youthful form.

"How?" Al was shocked. "You… you just—"

"Turned the laws of nature upside down?" Zoey asked. "You have no idea!"

"Try me," Al glared at her.

"There is more to time travel than you realize," Zoey informed him. "I have discovered that one does not merely need to leap through time… but rather, I've learned that one may control time itself and harness its powers!"

"How?" demanded Al. "That's impossible! Not even Project Quantum Leap could control time."

"How small minded you are," Zoey shook her head. "There are forces in this world outside of science that will enable me."

Al could only look at her in confusion.

"Allow me to give you a demonstration," Zoey told him.

In a flash, Zoey vanished. In surprise, Al blinked in shock and the next second, she was right beside him.

"Whoa!" Al took a step back from her. "How did you…"

"I slowed down time, opened up the door, and let myself in," she informed him.

Al looked at her nervously. He did not like where this was going.

Without warning, Zoey grabbed him by the forehead as the hourglass on her necklace glowed. A surge of power soon enveloped Al, pulsating through his entire body. Al tried struggling against her grip but it was immensely vice-like.

Finally, Zoey let go of him.

Al stumbled back, catching himself against the wall.

"What did you do to me?" asked Al.

Zoey took out a mirror from her pockets and handed it to Al.

"Take a look," she told him.

Al glanced at the mirror and noticed just how much he had changed. The wrinkles on his face were gone, only to be replaced by more youthful features. He now looked exactly the same as the old days when he was known as Bingo.

"I don't believe it," Al was shocked. "Did you just make me young again?"

"Yes I did," Zoey nodded.

"I… I haven't felt like this in a long time," Al looked at his own hands. "I'm young again!"

"Don't get used to it," Zoey told him. "Look in the mirror again."

Al raised the mirror to take another glimpse of himself. This time, his youth was gone and he had been restored to his natural age. In shock, Al dropped the mirror onto the ground.

"There's more to mastering time than your pitiful project," Zoey reminded the project observer.

"Why have you brought me here?" demanded Al.

"We've been keeping a careful eye on you," Zoey replied. "We simply can't afford to have you ruining our plans."

Realization dawned upon Al.

"Sam's here, isn't he?" Al glared at her. "You have him, don't you?!"

"That… is on a need-to-know basis," Zoey turned around, walking away.

oooo

"There was one leap I took that was unique compared to all my other leaps," Sam admitted.

For the longest time, he had been deep in conversation with Kairos, revealing the most intimidate of secrets with the time mage. However, under the spell of the potion he had drank down with the tea, spilling all his secrets felt very much like nothing more than sharing his life's story with a friend.

"Do tell," Kairos nodded.

"I was leaped into an old mining town where a lot of the people there had names similar to the people at Project Quantum Leap," Sam continued. "A lot of things didn't become clear to me then but soon I realized what it was I leaped there for."

Sam straightened his collar, recalling the story vividly.

"There was a bartender there also named Al," said Sam. "At first he seemed like a friendly patron… but then he was revealed to be much more."

"Was he?" Kairos' interest was piqued.

"I can't say for sure," Sam replied, "but I think whoever Al was, he may have been the Judeo-Christian God."

"Thou art telling me that a mere tavern worker was the God of the Hebrews?" Kairos sounded skeptical.

"That was what was hinted at," acknowledged Sam. "He told me that in my line of work, the life I lived was similar to that of a priest. Priests don't always get a choice where they're assigned but they're allowed Sabbaticals before tougher assignments. In a way, Al the bartender was telling me that my leaps would get tougher."

"And doth thou believe… in the God of the Old and New Testament?" asked Kairos.

"I, uh, well… I've never really been put on the spot about this before," Sam admitted.

Kairos noticed the color slowly returning to Sam's face. The truth potion he had laced Sam's drink with was wearing off. By this time, however, they had long been done with the more secretive aspects of the Project Quantum Leap discussion.

"Thou hast seen many strange and wonderful things on thy journey," Kairos pointed out. "Doth thou believe in a creator?"

"Well," Sam took a deep breath. "As a scientist, religion had been more or less divorced from my life the moment I entered into college. But when I was younger, I do recall attending church with my parents."

"And now?" asked Kairos. "Doth thou believe?"

"With everything I've seen in all of my leaps, I would have to say there are things out there that can't be explained by science," Sam answered, giving an answer he hoped would cause no offense. "Besides, I'm standing here talking to the guardian of time himself."

As Sam looked up, he noticed the sun rising.

"Hey, the sun's rising," he pointed out. "Guess I've been talking for so long I forgot the time."

"Do not fret," Kairos told Sam. "In truth, I very much enjoyed my conversation with thee."

"So how about you?" asked Sam. "Do you believe in a creator?"

"It depends on one's definition," Kairos answered. "Was there a force that brought about creation as we know it? I believe it to be true. Is this creator a benevolent force who helps orphans and widows? I very much doubt that."

Sam Beckett got up, stretching his arms. He was growing a bit uncomfortable having a discussion like this. While he acknowledged that there was more to the world than he had previously thought, he was still a bit cautious about having these kinds of talks that went beyond his usual expertise in science.

"Well look at that time!" Sam looked out at the sun. "I bet I took a pretty big time skip when I came down here, huh?"

"Indeed," Kairos got up. "Please excuse me for the time being."

As Kairos got up, Sam nodded and left the room to head towards the direction of the Project Chronos lab.

When Kairos was certain Sam was gone for good, he turned towards the fireplace and began chanting.

"_Unus quisnam est occultus vadum ostendo sum unus ego."_

"It is done, doctor?" asked Kairos.

From out of the shadows a man appeared. He was a blonde haired man at middle age, wearing a lab coat and holding a recording device in his hands.

"All the important details on Project Quantum Leap have been recorded," confirmed the man. "But I ran out of recording space when he went on and on about his adventures in the past."

"Good, then let us put his secrets to good use," Kairos smiled underneath his hood.

oooo

As Al sat in his jail cell pacing back and forth, he was surprised with the whistling of another inmate in a cell close to his.

"Somebody there?" Al called out.

"Who are you?" a distinctly British voice answered. "You sound like an American by your accent alone."

"Name's Al," the project observer replied. "I assume you're another one of the prisoners down here?"

"I wasn't always," the British voice answered. "I am Vincent Wellington."

"Hmm, never heard of that name before," Al confessed. "So what did they lock you up in here for?"

"Before this unfortunate coup d'état, I was head of Project Chronos," Wellington replied. "All the magnificence of this project you see before you was due to my efforts."

Al's ears perked up in alarm.

"You mean, Alia… Zoey… leaping around in time," Al asked. "Undoing all the happy endings of the people Sam had helped… that was your doing?"

Wellington snorted. "Well, I suppose I can't take credit for ALL of it. After all, it was Nathaniel's blueprints that helped to make this project a reality."

"Nathaniel?" Al asked suspiciously. "As in Nathaniel Lothoman?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Wellington. "And speaking of which, just who are you? You seem to know an awful lot about our project and that other time travel project in America."

Before Al could answer, he felt a sudden coldness down his spine as dark mists surrounded the room.

"Are you deaf?" demanded Wellington. "Who the blazes are you?!"

From the dark mists, Kairos appeared, holding his time staff menacingly.

"You," Al stepped away from the dark figure.

"It is I," Kairos answered.

From his side of the cell, Vincent Wellington heard the same familiar voice that had reduced him to a prisoner in his own castle and immediately fell quiet.

"You have Sam, don't you?" demanded Al.

"That is correct," confirmed Kairos. "And soon, when we have no more need of his assistance, thou shalt meet thy companion once more."

"Why do I get the feeling it's not going to involve the two of us driving off into the sunset merrily?" Al asked sarcastically.

"I have mine own reasons," Kairos told the man. "And neither thyself nor Sam Beckett shall leave unpunished."

"What are we being punished for?" demanded Al. "We've done nothing to you."

"Oh but thou has," Kairos answered with a gesture of his hand.

At once, Al felt an invisible force surrounding him and throwing him back-first against the wall. After hitting his head, Al crumpled to the ground unconscious.

"Alongside thyself, Sam Beckett was able to change the lives of many," Kairos walked away from the prone body of Al. "He saved the lives of many and brought families back together… all except mine own."

oooo

"Hello Dr. Beckett," one of the project technicians came up to Sam. He was a blonde man in roughly his forties with a lab coat and glasses

"Morning," Sam replied, shaking his hand.

"My name is William Oliver," the technician told Sam. "Under Wellington, I was forced to participate in his inhuman time travel projects. He threatened my wife and daughter if I didn't help him send agents like Alia and Zoey back in time to destroy the lives of others. Unfortunately I didn't have a choice but to comply."

"It's okay," Sam told him. "You're human, just like the rest of us. If somebody had threatened people close to me, there's a chance I might've had no choice but to help them just to make sure my family was safe."

"Thank you for understanding, Sam," Dr. Oliver smiled. "But now that Wellington is no longer in power, there's a chance we could do some real good with this project. We could do what you've done and change the past for the better."

"Yeah, about that," Sam interjected. "I was thinking we could do further research on time travel before we send people back into the past."

"Really?" asked Dr. Oliver. "But against all the odds and naysayers, you travelled back in time to take part in history itself."

"I did," admitted Sam. "Back then I was in danger of losing my funding. I was so desperate to prove my theory right, I leaped headfirst into the fray without thinking. And thanks to that, I was stuck in time for several years away from my loved ones."

"But you've done a lot of good for people haven't you?" asked Dr. Oliver.

"That's true," Sam admitted, "but now that I'm hopefully older and wiser, I think extra research needs to be made for time travel. Look, I'm not against changing history for the better but we need to foolproof projects like these and find a way to be able to retrieve anyone we send back into the past. That way, we won't have a scenario like mine where whoever is sent back gets stuck back there for years of his life."

"Well, you do raise a good point," William Oliver conceded. "I suppose we could devote more time and resources to further research on the intricacies of time travel."

"Thanks for listening," Sam smiled.

"Hopefully once Kairos and Zo—err Miranda return," Dr. Oliver added, catching himself in his mistake mid-sentence, "we can discuss this more in depth."

At once Sam noticed Dr. Oliver's slip of the tongue. However, as to not stir the man's suspicion, he did not make any mention of it.

"Yeah, uh, sounds like this needs to be a round table discussion," Sam told him. "Anyways, do you mind if I have a look around this whole castle again? I don't think I've seen all the sights just yet."

"Absolutely Dr. Beckett," Dr. Oliver agreed. "What was that they always said? _Mi casa es su casa_?"

oooo

Zoey held the hourglass tenderly in her hands as she strolled through the gardens. Before her, leapers like Sam and Alia had been blessed to travel through time. She, however, had the powers of time itself at her command.

"I could really get used to this," she smiled as she walked down a path of ripe apple trees.

As she continued her stroll, the dark aura given off by the hourglass aged all the apple trees within her immediate vicinity into rotted dead vegetation. Both the leaves and apples withered up and died as Zoey walked by.

"So this is what absolute power feels like?" she smiled.

"Thou art truly a prodigy," Kairos appeared before her almost out of nowhere.

"Ah yes," Zoey looked at her master. "This gift you've bestowed upon me is truly a work of art."

"The hourglass responds well to those who have traversed time before," Kairos informed her. "Your control over time is impressive."

"I agree," Zoey walked towards Kairos abortively. "With almost no formal training, I've made the powers of this hourglass my own. At this point, I think I'm powerful enough to even—"

"Thou art a truly talented apprentice," Kairos told her, "But thou art not yet a time mage."

At once, the hourglass appeared in the gnarled hands of Kairos. Zoey could do nothing but stare in shock as her power left her. Soon, she felt her youth leave her as well, transforming her back into the older woman she once was. All of it was too much to bear and Zoey soon collapsed on her knees.

"Thy pride will be thy undoing," Kairos warned her. "Do not be so quick to assume again."

"Yes," Zoey gasped, realizing for the first time just how weak she was. "I understand. Please Kairos, I need the power of the hourglass. I need your guidance!"

She stared at him pleadingly. Finally, Kairos relented with a mere gesture as the hourglass reappeared on her neck as part of her necklace chain.

"Thank you," she gasped.

"Verily, thou art a talented disciple," Kairos told her. "But thou still hast much to learn!"

"Excuse me ma'am," one of the technicians walked up to Zoey.

Kairos, however, would allow for no interruptions. Slamming his time staff into the ground, he froze time itself, enveloping the entire castle in quantum energy mixed with his own time-based magic. Zoey looked behind and saw the technician frozen in time just like a statue.

"Thy lesson begins now," Kairos told her.

oooo

Tossing and turning at night, Sam Beckett found that sleep was a lot harder to come by now that he had been plucked from his base in New Mexico and placed in a different part of the world with a completely different time zone.

Not only that, but his throat had been parched and so far, there were no jugs of water or water bottles in the room he was staying in.

Also, he was starting to feel that something was amiss. Earlier in the day, the scientist Dr. Oliver had almost called Miranda "Zoey" before correcting himself. He was not sure how the young woman could have been the older leaper Zoey but something was still amiss.

Getting up, Sam buttoned up his shirt and opened up the door, going into the darkened halls.

After making his way to the kitchen, Sam poured himself amid the dark room and downed it heartily. In spite of the advanced technology he had seen here, the kitchen had almost no lighting to speak of. It also didn't help that the candles mounted on the walls had already gone out.

Quietly, Sam left the room only to hear hushed voices down the hall. Curiously, he went over to investigate.

As Sam took a quick peak around the corner while he was hidden by the shadows, what he saw were two soldiers guarding a doorway.

"So why haven't we iced that Quantum Leap observer yet?" one of the guards asked.

"Because," his partner told him, "we need to use him as a bargaining chip in case Sam Beckett turns on us."

"Al!" Sam said quietly as realization dawned upon him.

Somewhere in this castle, his partner Al Calavicci was being held captive.

"I gotcha," the guard replied. "Anyways, I gotta head to the little boy's room."

"Yeah, speaking of which, I gotta go too."

"Seriously? It's not guard duty if nobody's guarding the dungeon."

"Look, when you gotta go, you gotta go. I've been holding it in for a long time."

"Fine. Let's make it quick."

As the two guards walked away, Sam stepped out of the entrance hall and walked towards the door leading to the dungeon. Somewhere down there was Al Calavicci and he would be damned if he let anything happen to his friend.

"Excuse me, Dr. Beckett?"

Sam turned around. Dr William Oliver stood there before him..

"Dr. Oliver," Sam said matter-of-factly.

"Out pretty late, aren't you?" Dr. Oliver asked with a smile.

"I couldn't sleep," Sam told him. "Jet lag. Not that I was on a plane but you get my meaning."

"Well, let me walk you back to your room," offered Dr. Oliver. "This castle can be a big place where you can easily get lost."

"Actually, I was thinking about staying up a bit later," Sam told him. "See what's beyond this door."

With that, Sam opened the door wide.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dr. Beckett," Dr. Oliver's usually friendly voice turned sour.

Suddenly, Sam heard an electronic buzzing sound and as soon as he whirled around, Dr. Oliver had pulled out a taser. As Dr. Oliver attacked him, Sam kicked the taser out of his hand instinctively like he had before with many other assailants coming at him with a weapon.

However, Dr. Oliver was far from through. With a straightforward punch, he sent Sam Beckett staggering back. Sam quickly caught himself and blocked an incoming swing at the left side of his head, returning the favor by punching Dr. Oliver square across the jaw.

Angrily, Dr. Oliver charged, tackling Sam and knocking him down at full force. At once, Sam felt the breath being knocked out of him. He was not aware that Dr. Oliver was a former rugby player, capable of hitting hard in his tackles.

As Sam looked up, Dr. Oliver was on top of him, gripping him by the neck.

"Guards!" shouted Dr. Oliver. "Come quickly."

Sam tilted his head back further, noticing that both he and Dr. Oliver were only inches away from a long winding staircase. Reaching up and gripping Dr. Oliver by the collar, Sam planted one foot on the ground and one foot underneath the scientist's stomach, flipping Dr. Oliver over and sending the man crashing down the stairs.

Getting up, Sam went inside and closed the door behind him. By the time Sam reached the end of the stairs, he noticed he was in a dungeon with the torches still lit. On the floor was the unconscious body of Dr. William Oliver.

"Thanks for the guided tour," he glared down at his assailant.

"Who's there?" a familiar voice called out.

At once, Sam recognized that voice. It was the voice of his friend and companion, Al Calavicci.

Quickly, Sam ran over to where the voice was coming from. Sure enough, Al was inside one of the cells in the dungeon. He looked a bit haggard from being held captive but was otherwise in one piece.

"Al!" shouted Sam. "You're here!"

"Sam!" Al looked up in shock. "Is that really you?"

"It is!" Sam said excitedly. "I need to get you out of here!"

"You got the keys?" asked Al.

"Well… not exactly," confessed Sam. "How did you end up down here anyways?"

"A bunch of masked men kidnapped me and sedated me," answered Al. "Next thing I know, I was down here."

"I'm starting to get the feeling that not everything is what it seems," Sam confessed. "The people who brought me here claim that the evil leapers are gone for good. Now I'm not so sure."

"Think you could get the dungeon keys from one of the guards?" asked Al.

"Yeah, uh, one problem," Sam replied sheepishly. "One of those guys caught me nosing around here and called the guards."

Suddenly, the look of worry on Al's face transformed into pure alarm.

"Sam, watch out!" shouted Al.

As Sam turned around, a soldier blasted Sam in the stomach with a taser, sending a surge of electricity through the quantum physicist's stomach. Finally, the soldier stopped what he was doing, allowing Sam to fall down unconscious.


	10. Pieces of a Puzzle

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Pieces of a Puzzle_

"Sam, are you awake?"

Sam Beckett got up, still shaken and stunned from the taser attack he had experienced. To his great surprise, his friend Al was not there in front of him.

"Al?" Sam called out.

"I'm in the cell next to yours," Al managed to wave a hand out of the bars.

"We gotta get outta here," Sam shook his head.

"It's not going to be easy," Al pointed out. "Each time the guards come by to check on us, they come in groups of three or more."

"Do you have anything that could help us out?" asked Sam.

"Well under normal circumstances, I would just phase through these bars as a hologram," Al said half-jokingly. "But now? I got nothing so far."

"I've managed to escape prison cells before," Sam said thoughtfully. "Remember that time a long time ago where I had to help Joseph Washakie find his final resting place in the land of his birth?"

"That could work," Al nodded. "Let me see if I have anything in my pockets that could help us."

"I could try playing sick," Sam threw an idea out there. "I know that stuff's been done in the movies but right now, we don't really have a lot of options."

"You're both wasting your time," another voice disrupted the conversation between both friends.

"Who is it?" Sam spun around.

In the corner sat a man with a stocky body and a receding hairline. He was dressed in a fancy suit, albeit one that looked a bit haggard and worn out at this point.

"Oh yeah I forgot to mention," Al pointed out. "This is your cellmate, Sam."

"Hey, didn't expect to see you in here with us," Sam glanced at the man. "Who are you?"

"My name is Vincent Wellington," the man got up, dusting himself off. "And you, my friend, are wasting your time if you think there's any hope of escape."

"Have you been kept prisoner here for a while?" asked Sam.

"You could say that," Wellington snorted.

"Then maybe we can help each other," Sam told him. "After all, if you've been kept prisoner here, then whoever is in charge of this leaping project probably sees you to be as much of a threat as us."

Smiling incredulously, Wellington began to chuckle.

"What's the matter?" asked Sam. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

"You silly boy," Wellington sneered. "The one in charge of this project couldn't possibly see me as a threat."

"Why's that?" Sam was curious.

"Because… I am the man who founded this project!" Wellington declared proudly.

oooo

"Thou hast done well," Kairos praised his new pupil as the two walked down the hallways. "I had not made the wrong decision when I chose thee."

"Yes, and the sacrifices that I made, small though they may be, were well worth it," Zoey agreed, thinking back to how her apprenticeship required the blood of her project observer, Thames.

"Thou wast required to sacrifice thy companion," Kairos acknowledged, "but thou shalt gain so much more."

"I must know," Zoey asked. "What are our goals? Will we go back in time to a certain era and make a big change? Perhaps ensure that certain people are never born?"

Before Kairos could answer, Dr. Oliver ran up to the both of them, panting heavily. On his arm was a sling. Apparently, he had been injured in some way since the last she had seen him.

"Dr. Oliver," Zoey frowned, hating that she was interrupted. "Is there any particular reason you feel the need to barge in on our conversation?"

"It's Dr. Sam Beckett," Dr. Oliver told her. "He's found out that we were holding his friend somehow."

"What?!" Zoey's face turned red with anger.

"However, we've taken care of it," Dr. Oliver told her. "Sam Beckett is now locked up as well."

"I see you personally had a hand in it," Zoey glanced at his sling.

"Well, let's just say that Dr. Beckett proved more resistant than expected," Dr. Oliver coughed, trying to save face.

Raising his other arm that had not been broken, Dr. Oliver beckoned for Zoey and Kairos to follow him.

"If you may, I would like for you to come with me," Dr. Oliver requested. "I've made an important breakthrough in the trade secrets Dr. Beckett had given to us."

"Hmm, this could prove interesting," Zoey looked at Kairos.

Kairos only nodded in confirmation.

"Very well, doctor," Zoey followed him. "Show us what you've got."

oooo

"You… you're the one in charge of this project?" Sam took a step back.

"I was," Wellington replied caustically. "Until one of my own operatives started a coup and landed me in this situation."

"Zoey," Sam deduced. "She worked for you…"

"She was an ambitious woman," Wellington confirmed. "I had high hopes for her when we hired her. Perhaps I should have tempered my enthusiasm back then."

"Yeah, you should have," Sam glared at Wellington balefully.

"And who might you be?" Wellington demanded.

"Sam," the quantum physicist responded coldly. "Sam Beckett."

"Ah yes," Wellington smiled. "You're the one who started this all."

"If you mean leaping through time, then yes," Sam told him. "I never wanted my research to be used for… for this!"

"You wanted your theories on time travel to see the light of day just like Einstein and all the other geniuses out there wanted their scientific theories to better mankind," Wellington countered. "Don't be surprised if, along the way of your research, a few Hiroshima's and Nagasaki's occur."

Sam continued to glare at the man.

"In every scientific or technological breakthrough, there will be a darker undercurrent," Wellington explained. "Einstein never took part in building the atomic bomb directly. However, his Theory of Relativity directly influenced the building of the bomb, leading to thousands of lives lost. Much like how your research, along with that of Dr. Lothoman's, helped to make us what we are, in spite of your obvious distaste for our accomplishments."

"What are you getting at?" demanded Sam.

"It's simple, you are the Albert Einstein of your Project Quantum Leap," Wellington grinned. "And us? Let's just say we are the Manhattan Project."

"Why do you do it?" demanded Sam. "Ruin other peoples' lives?"

"Well, you know what they say about breaking a few eggs to make an omelette," Wellington said haughtily.

"These aren't eggs we're talking about," Sam shot back. "These are human lives."

"Great accomplishments in architecture, technology, and science are often accompanied by great suffering from the contributions of the masses," Wellington pointed out. "Tell me, do you think the great Pharaohs of Egypt built their pyramids with a modern day paid construction crew on an eight hour workday schedule filled with a twenty minute lunch break? If so, you're more naïve than I thought!

"I never wanted my ideas to be used to destroy other peoples' lives!" Sam told him. "Your project perverted my research!"

"To be fair, it wasn't just your research we allegedly perverted," Wellington pointed out. "Your esteemed Professor LoNigro had a second pupil sometime after you by the name of Nathaniel Lothoman. He took your basic string theories and added his own research on the matter. Alas, the poor boy required funding. And that was where I came in."

"So that's how this whole project began," Sam concluded.

"Hmph, Nathaniel had a vision," Wellington told Dr. Beckett. "It actually quite a mundane vision, even moreso than your do-gooder Quantum Leap project."

"What was it?" asked Sam out of curiosity.

"Dr. Lothoman wanted nothing more than to travel through time as a holographic observer," Wellington said contemptuously. "He only wanted to go back in time to observe history in the making… to see how prehistoric man lived, to see how the Magna Carta was written, and to see how Benjamin Franklin flew his kite!"

"Hey!" Al chimed in from the other cell. "Speaking as an observer, let me tell ya! There ain't nothing wrong with that!"

"Lothoman was a fool," Wellington ignored Al's voice. "He was unaware of the great power that lay in his research. Eventually, I had to take a much more proactive role in this project."

"And he agreed to do it?" Sam glared at Wellington.

"At first he was unaware," Wellington replied. "But slowly, he realized that I was giving his Project Chronos new directives than what he had originally envisioned."

"Then what?"

"Because Dr. Lothoman was becoming resistant to continuing his work with us, we had to use other means," Vincent Wellington looked away, crossing both arms behind his back. "He had a fiancée during that time…"

"So you threatened her life," Sam felt the sudden urge to punch Wellington. "Blackmailed him to continue working for you even though you were going against everything his research stood for!"

"Well I had to do something," Wellington turned around with a satisfied look on his face. "Otherwise he would have left our project uncompleted."

"So what happened to the fiancée?" asked Sam suspiciously. "I know Dr. Lothoman eventually died from unknown causes."

"His woman was not important," Wellington waved his hand dismissively. "But Dr. Lothoman? By the time his research had given birth to a fully operational time travel project, he had contributed all there needed to be for us. Combined with the fact that we had scientists like Dr. William Oliver who were much more on board with my agenda… well, let's just say that Nathaniel had outlived his usefulness."

"That's sick," Sam pointed a finger at Wellington. "You're sick!"

"Don't act like you have the right to judge me," Wellington said defensively. "I made sure his death was as quick and painless as could be! I owed him that much for making all of this possible for me!"

"All of this?" Sam was only a few seconds away from assaulting Wellington. "You mean a black ops time travel project that goes back into the past to undo all the good that's been done?"

"Believe it or not," Wellington added angrily, "we do not go about committing random acts of evil for the sake of it!"

"Oh yeah, and what do you do?" demanded Al on the other side.

"You really ought to keep your companion in check," Wellington ordered Sam.

"He has a right to be mad," Sam dismissed Wellington's recommendation.

"Damn right I do!" Al added.

"You really think we're just some global terrorist organization bent on world conquest?" sneered Wellington. "It's really much more complex than that."

"Yeah?" demanded Sam. "And how's that?"

"We do not just go about changing history arbitrarily," Wellington straightened his suit. "Our scientists are constantly at work calculating the trajectories of each leap and taking the necessary precautions to ensure that whenever we do change history, they are only minor events that will not affect us or history at large in our current timeline."

"Minor?" Sam steadily grew angrier. "You mean like trying to destroy Jimmy's life and his family? And all those other horrible things you've tried to do?"

"I don't know of this Jimmy you speak of," Wellington snorted. "But I do know that one of the first missions I sent one of our operatives on was to sabotage the life of one mentally retarded target. The test run was almost a success… until you and your infernal observer interfered."

"You tried to ruin Jimmy's life… just as a test run for your project?" Al's furious voice was heard from the other cell.

"Why not?" Wellington retorted. "History at large would not have been affected by his suffering. Our scientists did all the calculations. You see, I needed an experimental first run with something and your 'Jimmy' was a convenient guinea pig for us at the time."

"Jimmy's family was nearly torn apart and he nearly lost his life!" Sam shouted. "Does that not mean anything to you?"

"It meant that our project would have been successful," Wellington responded coldly. "I had always planned for Project Chronos to generate revenue. Soon, I had rich men, oligarchs, and dictators lined up at my feet, hoping for a chance to either change their past or destroy their enemies. The profit I would have made from this was going to be astounding. And poor Jimmy? Well, he was just a stepping stone."

"You tried to use Jimmy," Sam growled. "You almost ruined his life! And for what? Just to make money?"

"Why do you care?" demanded Wellington. "He was just a damn useless retard!"

That was the final straw for Sam. Clenching his fist, he punched Wellington with all his might, sending the man crashing against the wall.

"Get 'im, Sam!" shouted Al.

"He had people who cared for him!" Sam grabbed Wellington by the collar and slammed him against the wall, "people who wanted a better life for him!"

"Guards!" shouted Wellington. "Help! I'm being attacked!"

Luckily for the bruised and bloodied Wellington, several soldiers were nearby and they rushed towards the prison cell with their weapons ready.

Sam, however, paid no attention to them as he continued to slam Wellington against the wall.

Soon, the guards entered into the cell and pried him off of Wellington. Sam continued to struggle, however. One of the guards punched Sam in the stomach as another two held him. Fighting back, Sam kicked the guard across the face, knocking him to the floor. He stomped down on the foot of the guard on his right and elbowed him after the man let go of him to attend to his own throbbing foot.

Unfortunately for him, the guard on Sam's left brought out a taser and drove it into Sam's temple, electrocuting him on the spot.

"Aaaahhh!" screamed Sam, falling down.

The three guards got their batons out and began beating and kicking Sam until he was unconscious.

"Sam!" Al shouted.

"Get him away from me!" demanded Wellington. "He made an attempt on my life!"

"We'll put him another cell," one of the soldiers told him as he and his companions dragged Sam away.

"Hah!" chuckled Wellington, wiping away the blood from his lips.

"You mark my words, Wellington!" Al told him from the other cell. "It may not be today. And it might not even be next week. But the day's going to come where you pay the piper for all the things you've done."

"I'm not exactly leaving this prison, am I?" Wellington retorted.

oooo

"So what is this breakthrough you're so excited about?" Zoey asked as she and Kairos entered into Dr. Oliver's personal laboratory, filled with notes and a black chalkboard with complex equations etched out across it.

"Years of research on the part of both Dr. Beckett and Dr. Lothoman," William Oliver explained to her. "It's all coming together."

"How so?" Zoey tilted her head curiously.

"I know you don't like it when I get too technical and throw around too much scientific jargon," Dr. Oliver told her, "so I'll try to keep the techno-babble to a minimum."

"You're off to a good start already," Zoey chuckled.

"After I recorded all the things Dr. Beckett told us about his Project Quantum Leap," Dr. Oliver told them, "I realized just how different both Sam and Nathaniel's individual works were."

"How so?" asked Zoey.

"For example," Dr. Oliver said to her, "each scientist had his own strengths and weaknesses when it came to their research. Sam Beckett's work was based more on abstract and circular theories while Nathaniel Lothoman's research was more centered on precision and pinpointing certain moments in time."

"Yes, I do believe that Sam Beckett was leaped around more randomly," Zoey put a hand on her chin, "almost as if he was being assigned to certain spots by a higher power."

"Absolutely," Dr. Oliver nodded his head. "On the other hand, Dr. Lothoman's work was already more solid, most likely because he had Sam Beckett's original research as a blueprint for him to work with. With him aiding us, we were able to send leapers back to a precise moment in time. But unfortunately for Nathaniel, he never cracked the code on how to actually bring a leaper back to his or her original time."

"Yes, it's a shame Wellington never informed me of that," Zoey sighed. "When it was Alia we first sent in there, I was under the impression that we were only keeping her in there to complete certain missions until we had no further use for her."

"Yes well… empathy was never Mr. Wellington's strong point," acknowledged Dr. Oliver. "Under his regime, we operated only on his time and his rules."

The whole time, Kairos said nothing at all. Zoey noticed how her master remained silent. Finally, however, he spoke.

"This information," Kairos finally spoke, "how will it be of benefit to us?"

"I'm glad you asked," Dr. Oliver grinned. "Sam Beckett and Nathaniel Lothoman both had their respective strengths and weaknesses as scientists. Some of Dr. Beckett's principles had a much better scientific foundation than Dr. Lothoman's. At the same time, Dr. Lothoman also was able to improve upon Dr. Beckett's theories of time travel."

Zoey and Kairos glanced at each other, eagerly awaiting the good news.

"Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle," Dr. Oliver continued. "Separately, the works of Dr. Beckett and Dr. Lothoman were fragmented and incomplete. Put them together, however… and you begin to see the complete picture."

"I do like where this is going," Zoey smirked.

"Put their research side by side like pieces of a puzzle," Dr. Oliver went on, "and the picture becomes complete. Their combined research has unlocked the secrets of the time-space continuum. With this new breakthrough, we can bend time itself to our will."

"So how will we do this?" asked Zoey.

"Well, we have the technology, the manpower, the equipment, and the blueprints of both Dr. Beckett and Dr. Lothoman," answered Dr. Oliver. "In addition, we also have Lothos in the form of the staff Kairos is holding. We can begin this evening."

oooo

"Ugh…" Sam finally became conscious again.

An unspecified amount of time seemed to have passed by and the last thing he remembered was being electrocuted and then beaten down by the guards after he tried to make Wellington pay for his crimes.

"Sam, are you alright?"

It was Al's voice. Sam realized that he had been put in a cell that was next to Al's but away from Wellington.

"I'll survive," Sam replied in spite of his throbbing head and bruised ribs.

"How unfortunate," Wellington's voice came from further down a cell.

"Oh put a sock in it you nozzle!" Al told the former project manager.

"Great," Sam got up, grabbing the bars of his cells. "We still have no escape plan even now."

"Don't worry, we'll think of something," Al tried to soothe his friend. "You know, back when I was under the tutelage of Magic Walters, he taught me how to pick locks and open them."

"Got anything we could use?" asked Sam.

"Well, I dug into my pockets and found nada," Al confessed.

"Looking for this?" Wellington reached through the bars of his cell and dangled a lock pick right in front of Al's cell.

"You got a pick?" Al perked up.

"Yes," Wellington took the pick back into his own cell. "In a previous rescue attempt, two of my loyal soldiers, Constance and Ramirez, attempted to free me but to no avail. Before they were disposed of, Constance slipped this lock pick into my hands in the event the rescue mission failed and I was on my own again."

"So what's the catch?" asked Sam from the far side.

"You free me and get me out of this castle," Wellington told them. "Then our business with each other will be done and we each go our separate ways. I confess I don't know much about picking locks so that is a task I will leave to either of you two, should you accept my offer."

"After all the things you've done, you think we're just going to let you walk free?" demanded Sam.

"You have little choice in the matter," Wellington reminded the two. "After all, you are low on resources and I know this castle like the back of my hand."

"Sam?" Al looked to Sam for guidance.

"Well?" asked Vincent Wellington. "Do I have your word you'll get me out of this castle and onwards to my freedom?"

"Common sense would tell me to leave you here to rot," Sam conceded, "but right now our situation is anything but common. You have my word."

"You sure you want to do this, Sam?" asked Al.

"We don't have much choice," Sam sighed.

"I knew you two would come to your senses," smiled Wellington as he handed Al the lock pick.

"Don't make me regret this," Al said to him.

"Actually, you may want to refrain from our escape plan for the moment," Wellington informed Al as the door to the dungeon creaked open. "I believe we are to have more security detail for the time being."

As five more guards entered down the hallway, Al put the locks away into his pocket and sat back down on the makeshift bunk on his cell. The time for escape would come eventually, but right now they had to sit it out in the face of insurmountable numbers.

oooo

Per the orders of Zoey and Kairos, Dr. Oliver had managed to get all their equipment moved to the outside of the castle, directly at the location of Stonehenge.

He was not certain why Kairos had specified this location but from what little he gathered from Zoey, the area had certain faultlines which could act as conduits of mystical energy. While it was certainly mumbo jumbo to him, he was not one to question someone who had easily overthrown Vincent Wellington. Perhaps this area had a certain magnetic faultline that would be more conductive to their experiment. At least that was how he could best rationally explain the situation to himself.

As Dr. Oliver looked up, he noticed several dark clouds gathering. He had forgotten there would be a thunderstorm on this night.

"Zoey, I recommend we not go through with this right now," he told her. "There's a thunderstorm brewing."

"We stay right where we are," Zoey told him confidently.

"But the storm!" Dr. Oliver protested. "It could destroy all of our equipment! I'm going to tell our men to pack it up!"

As Dr. Oliver turned around, he heard a clicking sound. He turned back to see Zoey with a gun in her hand pointed at him.

"We stay where we are," she reiterated.

"Very well," Dr. Oliver conceded fearfully. "I'll stay. My apologies."

Soon the overcast was upon them as thunder was heard from the skies.

"Turn them on!" Zoey ordered the technicians to turn on the machines they had placed at Stonehenge.

The machines soon hummed to life. At the center of Stonehenge, there were four quantum generators strategically placed in a circle.

"She'd better know what she's doing," Dr. Oliver said to himself.

The whole time, Kairos said nothing. There was nothing but an eerie silence surrounding the man that Dr. Oliver found most unnerving.

The machinery hummed to life soon enough as the rain began pouring down.

"Well Dr. Beckett," William Oliver said to himself. "I hope your research and Dr. Lothoman's studies are going to bear fruit soon enough."

As the four generators hummed to life, Kairos walked towards them ominously. Soon, he stood in the center of the generators as thunder crackled ahead.

Without warning, he raised his Lothos-infused time staff on high just as lightning came down from the skies, striking his staff and the four quantum generators all at once. Electricity bounced back and forth from the generators to the staff, empowering the weapon that Kairos held. Now imbued with new life, the time staff unleashed a powerful quantum wave which overloaded the quantum generators with energy and destroyed them, along with half the machinery in the area.

A dark red aura surrounded Kairos as he walked away from the fire and the debris.

"Are you insane?" demanded Dr. Oliver. "You could have killed us all with that stunt."

Zoey, on the other hand, pushed Dr. Oliver aside and went forth to her master.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Invigorated," he told her.

oooo

At once, Sam, Al, and Vincent Wellington felt the ground around them shake, in addition to a loud explosive sound in the distance.

"Geez, what was that?" Al grabbed the bars to steady himself.

"An explosion of some sort," Wellington snorted. "All the better for us then… it should be enough distraction for them."

"Got any idea what caused that explosion?" asked Sam.

"I don't know," Wellington conjectured. "A terror attack?"

Without warning, an ominous black and red portal opened up inside Sam's cell. Soon enough, Kairos stepped forth.

"I think I know now," Sam took a step back.

"Sam?" asked Al. "What's going on in there?"

"Kairos," Sam swallowed hard. "He's here."

"Oh no," Wellington's face went pale.

"You're not Father Time, are you?" asked Sam.

"No," Kairos answered. "I am something far greater."

"All this time you've been lying to me and using me," Sam growled. "Just who are you and what do you want?"

"Thou only needs to know that I am thy end," Kairos told him menacingly.

"Not if I have something to do about it!" Sam took a swing at Kairos.

Immediately, he punched into thin air as Kairos seemed to vanish into nothingness.

"Thou has told me much about thy journeys," Kairos reappeared a few feet away from Sam. "Truly thou has changed many lives… but also foiled the ambitions of many others."

"Sam, kick this guy's butt all the way back to the Stone Age!" shouted Al.

"Perhaps it is time thou became reacquainted with an old friend once more," Kairos said softly.

The time mage raised his time staff into the air as it glowed with power. Soon, Sam founded himself surrounded with a leaper's aura once more.

"No no no!" shouted Sam. "Al, it's happening again! I'm about to lea—"

He was not able to finish his sentence as he soon disappeared in the blue aura, only to be replaced by a total stranger. In Sam's place was an old man fully dressed in a butler's clothing. He looked around stunned that he had been transported out of his era and into a completely unknown location.

"What…" the old man stammered.

Kairos' hand reached out, grabbing the butler by the throat and draining him of the remaining life energy and youth he had. Before long, Kairos held a skeletal corpse in his hands.

"What did you do to him, you bastard?!" demanded Al.

"Sam Beckett has merely gone on another journey," a female voice next to him cooed.

Al whirled around in surprise to see the youthful Zoey standing next to him.

"I was always taught to never hit ladies," Al told her. "But you? You ain't no lady!"

He punched directly at her only for her to catch his fist. She twisted Al's arm behind his back and slamming him face-first into the bars.

"Ugh!" Al cried out painfully.

"If you must know, Sam has returned to the site of an old leap," she informed him, relishing greatly in his pain.

"Which one?" demanded Al.

She loosened her grip on him slightly and threw him onto the bunk bed that hung on the wall.

"I'll let you see for yourself," Zoey promised.

With a mere wave, she summoned a portal out of thin air, except this one showed the location of exactly where Kairos had sent Sam.

"I recognize this place," Al murmured. "It was the night of the… oh my God!"

"The night of what?" Zoey demanded.

"It was the castle where the night of the Blood Moon took place!" Al stammered. "Sam… you're in the lion's den now."

"Good," Zoey looked positively delighted. "Just where he needs to be."

Al gripped the chains to the prison cell's bunk bed tightly.

"Sam, stay safe," Al whispered.

oooo

Appearing out of thin air, Sam caught himself as he almost tripped over and fell, steadying himself against a stone wall.

"Where am I?" he looked around.

There was a definite sense of déjà vu. It was not often that he leaped into a medieval setting like this. And there were only a small handful of adventures he had over the years that had a setting which resembled this.

There were a few portraits on the wall, portraits of a nobleman of some sort. All around him were furniture and other accessories that resembled something out of a gothic novel.

The only safe bet was that he wasn't in America right about now.

Then Sam realized there was one component that was missing from this setting… mirrors.

"Now I remember," he looked around the area. "This was where I foiled the Blood Moon ritual."

It was the same castle where the alleged vampire Lord Nigel Corrington had staked out as his home. He was also the same person Sam had leaped into in the past. And he had used his leap as Nigel Corrington to save the man's young wife from being sacrificed in some sort of blood ritual at night.

Even now, Sam was not one hundred percent that the man he had leaped into was a member of the undead. However, he did know that he was not out of the woods just yet.

Just outside the castle, the sun began its descent as it began to set just at the tip of the mountains.


	11. Blood Feud

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Blood Feud_

"Sam's survived that nutty castle before," Al told his captor. "He'll get out of this in one piece!"

"Really now?" asked Zoey. "By Sam's own drugged admission, this Count Nigel Corrington is a vampire. How could he possibly hope to survive the night?"

"Sam's taken down some pretty tough guys, lady!" warned Al. "I wouldn't count him out yet."

"And what is Sam to do once his throat is torn open and all his blood sucked dry?" Zoey taunted.

Al Calavicci hated to admit it, but he was quite frightened for Sam. Years ago when Sam had leaped into the eccentric gothic count, Al had been so frightened of Corrington's vampiric appearance that he had skedaddled out of waiting room like a mouse.

Was Corrington really as superhumanly strong as most vampires in fiction were portrayed? Would he really try to drink Sam's blood?

These were the questions that worried Al.

"You won't be going anywhere," Zoey told him, maintaining the portal with her hand. "So I suggest you sit tight and watch as your friend meets his merry end."

oooo

After some struggle, Sam managed to open the main entrance door of the castle and found himself outside in the garden. The gates were higher than could be reached for just about anyone and to add insult to potential injury, there was barbed wire at the very top.

Ever since Sam had managed to convince Corrington's wife Alexandra to leave behind her life with the count, Corrington had really gone out of his way to turn his own home into more of a fortress than it had originally been.

Looking around, he saw some boxes. He piled them one on top of each other but soon realized that they were not tall enough for him to be able to get over the gates.

"Oh boy," Sam sighed. "How do I get out of his mess?"

He looked up towards the sky. It was in the latter part of the afternoon and in about an hour or two, the sun would finally set, leaving him alone in the dark gothic castle with a potential vampire coming after him.

"Enjoying the sunset?" asked the voice of an old Englishman.

Sam turned around and saw old man with gray hair tending some sheep near the other side of the gates.

"Hi," Sam walked over. "And you are?"

"I don't believe we've met before," asked the older gentleman. "My name is Jacob. And this is my flock."

"I uh… look, this is going to sound crazy to you," Sam told him, "but I'm not who you think I am."

"You're not a butler?" asked Jacob. "You mean you're not here to serve that nightstalker?"

"No," Sam explained. "Well, that is… I was sent here accidentally against my will."

"You were?" Jacob's eyes widened in fear. "May the good Lord watch over you tonight!"

"Well, I will need all the help I can get," Sam admitted, trying to pry open the locks at the gates.

"What is your name?" asked Jacob.

"I'm Sam," the leaper answered.

"I'm pleased to meet you," Jacob acknowledged, "for the short time you may be here anyways. Once that vampire gets a hold on you, he will show you absolutely no mercy."

"A vampire?" asked Sam. "You mean Nigel Corrington really is a vampire?"

"Without a doubt yes," Jacob nodded. "Ever since Corrington's wife left him, he's grown increasingly deranged and bloodthirsty in his hunts. His superhuman senses help him find prey easily."

"Oh boy," Sam sighed.

Unfortunately for Sam at the moment, he did not actually possess the butler's body despite sharing his uniform. His aura only made him appear to look like the other person he had leaped into. He did not actually possess their bodies and if Corrington was able to tell he wasn't the butler through other sensory organs than the eyes, then he, Sam, was in big trouble.

"Look, I think I may be able to help," Jacob reached inside his pocket.

"With what?" asked Sam.

"With this," Jacob took out a cross.

"Will it work?" Sam inquired.

"I don't know," Jacob admitted. "Thus far I've never had to use it myself. Hopefully it might be able to help you."

"Whether or not Corrington is a real vampire," Sam looked at Jacob, "it's obvious he's not a good guy. What is his whole deal?"

Jacob looked down. "Corrington has been ruling these lands with an iron fist since before I was born. Periodically, he goes out on his nightly hunts for either victims or new women to be part of his Blood Moon rituals."

"How has he gotten away with this for so long?" asked Sam.

"Corrington possesses a fortune," answered Jacob. "He's bought off the local officials. Sure a few people have made connections to the victims making their way to Corrington's castle but the authorities always look the other way and cover up for him even though they claim they're working on the cases of those missing persons."

At that moment, Sam recalled reading _Dracula_ by Bram Stoker years ago, in addition to watching a movie or two about the fictionalized vampire. And in that story, there was always a human under the control of that vampire like Renfield who served their vampiric overlord either willingly or under mind control. And unfortunately in this scenario, the humans who served Corrington happened to be the local police force.

"Well the gates are locked and I'm going to be faced with a sociopathic count soon," Sam pointed out. "What else can I do?"

"Hope and pray for the best," Jacob sighed. "I know my prayers certainly won't bring back Ian."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is Ian?" inquired Sam.

"My brother," Jacob admitted ruefully. "He was an interior designer to this castle. For years he was under the employ of Corrington. But one fateful night, he discovered the truth of Count Nigel Corrington and his nighttime activities. Ian tried reporting it to the local authorities but instead, they tipped Corrington off."

Sam looked on helplessly, realizing where the story was headed.

"Corrington appeared before us one night and killed Ian right in front of my eyes," Jacob shook his head sadly. "Ever since then I've wanted to move out of this Godforsaken county. But I've barely been able to make ends meet for myself."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Sam lowered his head.

"All I can do is try to prevent one more loss," Jacob shrugged. "The sun will be setting soon."

Sam looked up, realizing the old man was right.

"What do you want me to do?" asked Sam.

"The castle is big enough," Jacob recommended. "Find the best hiding spot you can and don't leave it, no matter what happens. Once you survive the night, I'll return tomorrow with a big enough ladder and help you over these gates."

"Alright, I'll go do that," Sam agreed.

"Be careful in there," cautioned Jacob. "In any case, I'd better get going."

"Thanks for your help," Sam shook Jacob's hand.

"I do what I can," Jacob nodded.

oooo

"Would you look at this," Al sneered at Zoey. "Sam's chances of survival just increased."

"You really think so?" Zoey was unconvinced. "So he received a cross from a shepherd. How does that enable him to survive?"

"You don't know Sam like I do," Al pointed out. "He and I have both been through impossible situations."

"And yet here you are, unable to help him," Zoey reminded him.

Al had to concede that she raised a good point.

"You must feel so helpless as his observer," Zoey told him. "How does it feel not being there for your friend?"

Al glared at her. "How does it feel not having your observer? What was his name again?"

"His name was Thames," Zoey answered. "He will be missed… but not that much."

"Let me guess, you were the one who offed him to get to where you are now?" asked Al sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact…" Zoey smiled sinisterly towards Al Calavicci.

"You… you did, didn't you?" Al was in shock.

"I was made a better offer than what Project Chronos had been giving me," Zoey said simply. "How could I not have taken Kairos up on his offer?"

"Lady, you are twisted," Al glared at her.

"You're entitled to your opinion," she reminded him, "not that it will be relevant anymore once this is all done."

"It's not over yet," Al retorted. "Sam still has enough time to make it out of that castle alive."

The portal that Zoey maintained began to darken, indicating that night time had fallen.

"Let's put your faith to the test then, shall we?" sneered Zoey.

oooo

Having taken Jacob's advice, Sam had found himself a closet as a hiding place. It was a dusty small room with a few boxes, books, and various other Victorian artifacts. Sam had made sure to move those items to the further end of the small room, lest he trip over something and make enough noise to attract attention.

The room was dark and quiet, save for a small hole that had somehow been drilled on the door, providing a tiny bit of light and an opportunity for Sam to peak out.

Jacob's recommendation had been easy enough. Stay silent for the whole night and hope Corrington didn't find him. As Sam took a peak outside of the small hole in the door, he heard footsteps.

At that moment, Sam realized there was someone coming.

He continued his watch as a dark figure in a nobleman's outfit descended down the flight of stairs ominously. The man possessed pale, putrid skin and fangs that almost gleamed.

It was Nigel Corrington. At that moment, Sam realized that he never truly got the opportunity to see what the man looked like when he had leaped into his place during the night of the Blood Moon. His appearance was indeed a horrific sight.

Having gazed upon the man's face, Sam now knew what Al had felt like when Corrington had appeared in the waiting room.

Sam stood quietly and leaned against the wall in the darkened closet, doing his best not to make any noise. If he played his cards right, he would be able to survive the night and escape by the next day with some help from Jacob.

All he had to do was remain patient and quiet.

Of course, there was also the distinct possibility that Corrington would tear down the doors out of nowhere and find him, with all fangs blazing.

To his relief, Corrington left the castle, opening the main doors and leaving the place.

"Whew," Sam whispered to himself. "I'd hate to meet that guy face to face."

The two 'vampires' he had encountered in his previous leap to this castle had been merely two humans who had been obsessed with vampirism. After the two of them had been disposed of, Sam had assumed that vampires no longer existed, that is… until he looked into a piece of silverware and realized that he had no reflection.

Though he was still safe for the moment, the question still remained. Was Nigel Corrington really a vampire?

oooo

"Looks like your plan didn't work so well," Al said to Zoey mockingly.

"The night isn't over yet," Zoey told him. "And in the unlikely event your friend survives the night, we have something better planned for him."

"Sam will make it," Al glared at her. "And once he's staked that vampire, he'll be coming for you and your warlock buddy."

"I heartily look forward to it," she replied. "Now if you'll excuse me for a moment…"

The hourglass on her neck glowed as Zoey disappeared. In that same token, the portal disappeared, cutting Al off from the vision of Sam.

"I don't know what's going on over there, Sam," Al whispered, "but stay safe, buddy."

oooo

"Kairos," Zoey walked up towards her master.

The time mage was conversing with Dr. William Oliver as she entered into the room.

"Forgive this interruption, William," Kairos told the scientist.

"Do you need me to leave?" Dr. Oliver asked.

"No, you may stay," Zoey waved aside his concerns.

"Speak," Kairos beckoned to her.

"A few other factors have arisen," Zoey informed them. "Sam Beckett's chances of survival may be higher than we anticipated."

"You mean some supposed vampire aristocrat can't do the job?" Dr. Oliver frowned.

"We don't know yet, as Dr. Beckett has not yet encountered him," Zoey replied. "However, because Sam Beckett has proven to be resourceful in the past, I would recommend moving forward to Phase Two of our plans, should Sam survive his ordeal."

Dr. Oliver smiled. "I always did like the sound of Phase Two better than letting Dr. Beckett run amok in some old vampire hideout."

"Kairos, shall we proceed?" asked Zoey.

"Very well," Kairos nodded. "Gather thy footsoldiers. And prepare the list of names."

oooo

Sam was not sure how much time had passed but it felt like hours. He held the cross Jacob had given him close to his chest. In the event Corrington found him out, he would have to be ready to do anything to survive.

Soon, his ears were alerted by the chirping of birds. Sam got up and looked outside the small hole in the door. So far it was still dark. Birds did have a reputation for chirping loudly early morning around four or five when it was still dark.

In the meantime, Sam was still trying to fight sleep. He was tired and exhausted with almost no rest.

However, in the event that he fell asleep, he would have left himself exposed and helpless. Even the smallest snore could possibly alert Corrington to his location.

The best thing even now was to stay put and wait until daybreak before going out there and waiting for Jacob.

"No, let go!" a voice rang out.

Sam got up, looking out the hole in the door once more.

The doors to the castle flung open as Count Nigel Corrington came in, dragging a victim into his abode with his bare hands. At once Sam recognized the man. It was Jacob being taken against his will by Corrington.

Finally, Corrington yanked Jacob forward and threw him to the ground.

"Do you know why you are here?" demanded Corrington in a terrifying voice.

"So you can finish what you started with my brother?" demanded Jacob.

"I never intended for your brother to die," Corrington replied with a touch of honesty to his otherwise eerie voice.

"Oh really?" Jacob glared at the vampire.

"He had a duty to attend to the well-being of my castle," Corrington explained. "I had no designs to make him one of my victims. But your brother discovered what I was. I gave him the opportunity to keep his silence along with his life. However, he attempted to expose me to the world. For that, he had to pay the price with his life."

"So you didn't want to kill him originally?" demanded Jacob. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I gave your brother a chance to keep his life," Corrington crossed his arms. "Now I give you the same choice."

"What do you want from me?" Jacob got up.

"Your abilities as a shepherd are beginning to deteriorate with age," the count replied. "I found one of your sheep left behind just a few yards away from my castle. What were you doing so near my abode?"

"What else?" Jacob spat. "They needed pastures. I had to find someplace for them to graze."

"You are free to use any grazing land in this area," Corrington reminded him. "However, my personal pastures are not for your use."

"I don't suppose I could say I'm sorry," Jacob said sarcastically.

"Why were you up here?" inquired Nigel Corrington.

"I already told you," said Jacob nervously. "I needed more grazing grounds for my sheep."

"You are lying," Corrington stared directly into his face. "I can see the blood rushing to your face. You are hiding something from me."

"I swear I'm not hiding anything!" protested Jacob, wishing he still had his cross right about now.

"After what your brother had done, I showed you mercy by allowing you to stay on these lands," Corrington growled, bearing his fangs. "And this is how you repay me?"

"Look, I'm not—" Jacob began.

Corrington did not allow him to finish. Moving quickly, he grabbed Jacob by the throat and forced him to his knees.

"I did not want it to come down to this, Jacob," Corrington's eyes betrayed a savage rage in spite of his nobleman status. "But you have forced my hand… just like you brother did before you!"

Jacob struggled as best he could but he could not break the vice-like grip of Count Nigel Corrington. At that moment, Sam had finally had enough and swung open the door to face the vampire lord.

"I especially savored your brother's blood," Corrington grinned ravenously. "I wonder if yours will also taste as sweet as nectar…"

"Let him go!" Sam shouted, revealing himself at that moment, throwing open the close door.

Corrington turned to Sam, loosening his grip on Jacob somewhat but not completely.

"You," Corrington hissed. "You wear my butler's clothes but you are not him."

"You're right, I'm not," confirmed Sam. "Now let Jacob go!"

Count Nigel Corrington threw Jacob aside callously.

"You are familiar to me," Corrington came closer to Sam. "Yes, I recognize your presence."

"We never formally met," Sam slowly edged away. "But we switched places and you entered into the waiting room."

"Yes, I remember all of it," Corrington slowly nodded his head. "I was to carry out the Blood Moon ritual and before it could come to fruition, I had vanished into that strange place you know as the 'waiting room.' It was you who stopped my Blood Moon ritual and made me lose my Alexandra."

"Newsflash," a sudden wave of anger flashed over Sam. "You would have lost her anyways if you had gone through the Blood Moon ritual!"

"She would have given her life for a noble cause!" Corrington hissed.

"Over my dead body she would have!" Sam growled.

As Corrington rushed towards Sam, the leaper forgot all about his previous fear as a new emotion took over, anger. Sam clenched his fist and unleashed a punch across Corrington's jaw. He wound up his other arm and punched the vampire lord yet again. Seemingly un-phased, Corrington rolled with both punches and then stared back at Sam with a sadistic smile.

Sam spun around, catching the nobleman across the head with a wheel kick that finally made the vampire stumble a bit.

Corrington, however, caught himself and regained his composure like nothing had happened to him.

Hissing like a cat playing with a mouse, Corrington backhanded Sam across the head. The force of the blow was so powerful that Sam's nearly snapped as the leaper was knocked to the floor.

"Oooh boy," Sam shook his head.

It was as if he had been hit by a locomotive.

"Run," the vampire grinned, flashing his teeth.

Sam got up, running away from the vampire and heading up the stairs, hoping to get some higher ground. By the time Sam got up, he saw Corrington raise himself from the floor almost as if he were floating. The vampire nobleman then floated up the stairs in a slow motion, as if he were savoring the chase and Sam's fear.

Sam ran across the hall on the second floor until he saw an open door to his right. He entered into it and barricaded the door. The interior of the room had a fireplace and some Victorian-era furniture. There was a painting of the vampire nobleman which hung on the wall to his left near the windows, which were completely covered up by the draping.

Just as Sam turned his back to the door, Corrington struck the door with enough force that it flew off its hinges and knocked Sam on his back near to the fireplace.

Sam groaned in pain as the vampire lord walked regally into the room, ready to end the life of his prey. Near to the leaper, however, was one of the pokers of the fire place.

"You took Alexandra from me," Corrington snarled. "Now you shall pay the price with your life!"

At once Sam grabbed the nearby poker and swung around, striking Corrington across the face with all his might.

"Aaaaahhh!" screamed Corrington as the sharp end of the poker cut through his face.

Sam got up, holding the poker in his hand. As Corrington turned around, Sam saw that he had managed to do some damage. There was a deep cut across his face from where the poker had struck him.

Sam rushed the vampire lord, swinging the poker again. Corrington, however, caught it and punched Sam with enough force to send him crashing onto the rug on the floor.

"For that indignity, I will drain every inch of your blood," promised Corrington. "And I will do it slowly, with great relish!"

Before Corrington could reach, Sam, however, a man leaped onto his back, trying to hold him back. As Sam shook his head to clear his vision, he saw that it was Jacob on Corrington's back, doing his best to hold back the bloodthirsty vampire.

"Run!" Jacob ordered Sam, holding on for dear life.

"I see you choose your brother's fate!" Corrington growled.

Corrington grabbed Jacob after a brief struggle and threw him out of the window, sending the man plummeting to the ground below from a tall second story. However, as he did, the light came pouring out from the broken window, exposing Corrington's skin to the sun.

"Jacob!" shouted Sam.

"Aaaahhh!" hissed Corrington as he felt a burning sensation from the exposure.

Quickly, the vampire backed away from the sunlight as smoke emitted from his flesh.

At that moment, Sam realized that, in addition to being a true vampire, Corrington did have a weakness to sunlight. Getting up, he crawled towards one of the unexposed windows, hoping to open up the drapery and expose more sunlight into the room.

Unfortunately for him, Corrington realized what he was doing and grabbed Sam from behind by the collar. Spinning Sam around and then grabbing him by the neck, Corrington lifted Sam straight up into the air with his inhuman strength. Sam choked and struggled against the might of Nigel Corrington but could not break free.

"Now you die!" promised Corrington.

Suddenly, Sam remembered the cross that Jacob had given him. Using it against Corrington was just about the only hope he had left. After all, if vampires had a weakness to sunlight, then why not religious objects?

Fumbling in his pockets just as the life was being choked out of him, Sam grabbed the cross and used his hand to plant the object right on top of Corrington's forehead, drawing a pained and agonized scream from the vampire.

At once the cross began burning right into the vampire's head. Sam used his other hand to grab the vampire from the back of the hand as his right hand continued to press the burning object into the vampire's forehead.

With a burst of strength, Corrington finally threw Sam off of him near one of the unopened windows. The vampire lord fell down to both knees gasping for air. As Corrington tilted his head up, Sam saw the burnt markings of a cross embedded in his head. Hissing angrily like a snake, Corrington got up slowly and then began to charge at Sam like a raging beast, bereft of all rationality

At that moment, Sam grabbed the draping on the windows and yanked it aside, revealing the sunlight that Corrington had dreaded. As soon as exposure was made to Corrington's skin, the vampire lord screamed in agony as he began to burn up, running towards Sam in a half-crazed daze.

Sam leaped out of the way just as the Count finally caught on fire. The vampire nobleman crashed through the window like a crazed bull, finally exposing himself to the searing morning sun. His burning body smashed into the lawn, writhing painfully for several moments before finally expiring. By the time the smoke cleared, Corrington was little more than a smoldering corpse.

Then he remembered Jacob. Sam turned and sprinted down the stairs, opening the door and running towards the fallen Jacob.

"Hang in there Jacob!" Sam knelt down.

Unfortunately for Jacob, the fall had injured him to a serious degree, made worse by his own advanced age.

"I… promised I'd return to help you," Jacob said in a pained voice.

"Corrington's gone," Sam cradled Jacob's head. "He'll never hurt anyone ever again."

Jacob looked at the cross in Sam's hand and smiled sadly.

"I may not have been able to save my brother," he whispered, "but at least I was able to help you."

"Don't give up on me, Jacob!" Sam's voice became more emotional.

"Thank you Sam," Jacob's body grew colder. "And Ian, I'll see you soon..."

"Jacob!" cried Sam. "JACOB!"

Finally, Jacob breathed his last. Sadly, Sam put his hands on Jacob's eyes and closed them for the old man. As he laid Jacob down on the ground, Sam got up miserably and stumbled back.

"Why?" he said to himself.

At that moment, the leaper's aura surrounded him once more, taking him away from everything that had happened. The only thing remaining were the golden rays of the sun shining upon a once darkened castle.

_This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Sir Christopher Lee(May 27, 1922 – June 7, 2015)._


	12. Dark Night of the Soul

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Dark Night of the Soul_

The first thing Sam saw as soon as he was teleported back into his original time was Kairos standing there alongside Dr. Oliver.

"You!" Sam growled.

Clenching his fist, Sam charged Kairos. Dr. Oliver stepped away as Kairos merely pointed his time staff towards the quantum physicist. Before Sam could reach him, the time staff glowed as a blue energy lash erupted from the weapon and wrapped itself around Sam.

As Sam fell, the blue energy whip surrounding him transformed into iron chains.

"Time manipulation is not mine only specialty," Kairos informed Sam.

"Yeah?" Sam spat angrily. "Well I'd like to think breaking your chin would be my specialty!"

Before long, several soldiers came into the room.

"Take him away," Dr. Oliver told them.

Two soldiers hoisted Sam up and dragged him off.

"Now as for the rest of you," Dr. Oliver gestured for the remaining soldiers.

Kairos stood there patiently as Dr. Oliver handed information cards to each of the agents.

"Art thou ready?" Kairos asked.

"We understand," one of the soldiers replied.

"Good!" Kairos raised his staff into the air.

At once six portals appeared out of thin air, crackling with mystic energy.

"Go forth!" commanded Kairos. "Find them and do not delay!"

Each of the soldiers nodded and went through the portals. After they entered, the portals closed up.

"You are really outdoing yourself this time, you know that?" Dr. Oliver smiled. "I can think of nothing more agonizing than making Dr. Beckett watch helplessly as his life's work is undone!"

Kairos merely crossed both arms proudly and smiled.

oooo

"Unfortunately your friend has survived," Zoey said to Al with much disgust to her voice. "Dr. Beckett has the tenacity of a cockroach!"

"I bet you're feeling pretty toasty right about now," Al sneered.

Angrily, Zoey turned around, focusing all of her anger on the observer. She grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"You don't know the half of it!" Zoey growled.

"So what're you going to do now?" demanded Al. "Kill me?"

"Zoey!" a sharp voice rang out.

Zoey looked behind her to see her master Kairos.

"Release him," Kairos gestured towards her.

Zoey looked like she wanted to disobey his direct order for a second but thought better of it. With a huff, she let Al go.

"I don't suppose you're here to let bygones be bygones?" Al asked sarcastically.

"On the contrary," Kairos replied. "Thou hast been a nuisance to us for far too long."

At that moment, Al realized what the time mage was getting at.

"Well, I'll let you know this," Al promised. "If I go down, I don't go down without a fight!"

At once he charged Kairos but the time mage merely stopped him in his tracks with a mere wave of his wand.

"Farewell Al Calavicci," Kairos created a time portal right behind Al.

At that moment, Al regained control of his body again but it was far too late. The power of the portal drew him back, sucking him into its embrace.

"No!" shouted Al.

"Begone!" shouted Kairos, striking Al with an invisible telekinetic force that knocked him directly into the portal.

"Impressive!" Zoey grinned. "Shall I open a portal to keep an eye on him?"

"He has been sent to an era a man of his age and infirmity surely would not survive," Kairos promised. "It is not necessary for you to do so."

oooo

"I'm surprised you lived through your ordeal," Wellington said to Sam.

The guards had carelessly thrown Sam into the same cell as Wellington about five minutes after Kairos had transported Al away.

Sam glared at Wellington contemptuously.

"Yeah, well I'm a survivor," Sam replied miserably.

"I overheard the guards talking," Wellington said to him. "They said something about how you were being fed to some age-old vampire."

"So vampires exist," Sam shook his head. "Whoopty-do."

"I have to admit, I am quite fascinated by that," Wellington held the bars with his hand. "But first I would like some plan to get out of here first."

"Where's Al?" asked Sam. "Does he still have that lock pick you gave him?"

"Um, about that…" Wellington gulped.

"About what?" demanded Sam. "Where is Al?"

Wellington sighed. "Before you came down here, that warlock sent your companion somewhere through time. I overheard some of it."

"What?!" Sam got up and grabbed Wellington by the collar.

"Now calm down, Dr. Beckett!" protested Wellington. "I was not the one who committed the act! In fact, my whole escape plan centered upon your companion!"

Sam then let go of Wellington, realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere by getting emotional again.

Sam sighed. "You're right."

"I don't particularly care what opinion you hold of me," Wellington told Sam sternly, "but if we are to escape from here, we will have to work together!"

"Fine, I agree," Sam nodded. "But only under one condition."

"What is that?" demanded Wellington.

"When this is all over, you turn yourself in," Sam told him. "After everything you've done, you don't deserve to walk free."

"I certainly will not!" protested Wellington. "Besides, we had a deal!"

"Well now that Al isn't here anymore I'm renegotiating the terms of the deal!" Sam raised his voice to let Wellington know that he meant business.

"You bloody fool!" growled Wellington. "I am Vincent Wellington! I have taken the theories of a feeble-minded idealist like Nathaniel Lothoman and turned it into the most successful time travel project of this generation! I will not submit myself to the courts!"

"You won't have a choice when I'm through with you!" Sam yelled back.

Before the two men could come to blows, several soldiers appeared before them, along with Dr. William Oliver.

"I see Judas Iscariot has raised his serpentine head," Wellington glared at Dr. Oliver. "Come to collect your thirty pieces of silver?"

"Oh spare me Vincent," Dr. Oliver said dismissively towards the former project head. "I'm here for Dr. Beckett."

The soldiers took Sam out of the cell and escorted him away.

"Good riddance," Wellington snorted.

"Don't get so comfortable Vincent," Dr. Oliver smiled. "Your turn is coming up soon."

oooo

Before long, Sam was escorted to a dining hall. After walking past the fireplace, Sam noted that there were several people there being guarded by the soldiers of Project Chronos.

"Recognize them?" Kairos asked. "Thou should. After all, thou hast told me all about them while thy mind was under my spell."

After getting a closer look, Sam realized he was looking at the faces of people from his past. Either they were people he had leaped into or they had been people that he had helped out during his leaps.

"Jimmy!" Sam cried out, recognizing the mentally handicapped man before him.

In that brief instance, he even felt a brief stab of joy despite the circumstance he was in.

There were several more people there along with Jimmy. Father Mac was there as well. In addition, there was also Sister Angela, a nun he had aided in his first year of leaping. There was Katie McBain, a young rape victim whom he had to find justice for. Next to Katie was a slightly unkempt man dressed up in wilderness survival gear. It was Roy Brown, an epileptic Vietnam Veteran whose life he had saved in Washington State.

There was another woman present as well, a woman he had fallen in love with before during his very leap. Abigail Fuller was her name.

"Who are you people?" Father Mac glared at the soldiers around him. "And why are we being held captive?"

"I have brought thee here for a grand purpose," Kairos promised and then gestured towards Sam Beckett. "Take a look at this man here. He was able to touch all thy lives without thee even realizing it."

"I don't know why you've brought them here," Sam told Kairos slowly. "But I think it's clear now that I'm the one you have a grudge against. Let all these other people go back to their own time to live their own lives peacefully."

"Let them go?" Zoey smiled at him. "But we haven't brought in our VIP yet."

"What?" Sam glared at Zoey who gestured for the soldiers to bring in their latest prisoner.

"Donna!" Sam cried.

"Sam!" Donna rushed towards her husband.

Two soldiers got in between them but Kairos waved them aside. Donna quickly embraced her husband in a hug.

"I can't believe they got you too, Donna!" Sam held on to her tightly.

"What will we do now, Sam?" asked his wife.

"I know I'm not the most mentally stable person to be asking this," Roy Brown stepped forward. "But why is all of this happening? One minute I was in the woods enjoying a hike and the next minute, I get seized and brought here through some kind of time warp."

"Thou art here because of the man named Sam Beckett," Kairos pointed towards Sam.

All the people from the different eras Sam had been looked at Sam as if to try to recall who he was.

"I… I'm afraid I don't know who he is," Roy shook his head.

"Me neither," Sister Angela looked at Sam curiously.

"I know him," Katie McBain stepped forward.

"Katie…" Sam recognized the traumatized woman he had once helped.

"Shortly after I had been… raped, Sam leapt into my place," Katie almost shuddered at having to remember her own traumatic experience. "I was there at my own trial as a hologram to help Sam. We didn't win the trial but after it was over, Sam found justice for me and my family."

"A touching story," Zoey smirked. "You are but one of many lives Dr. Beckett has touched."

"S-Sam?" Jimmy stuttered.

Zoey pointed at hand at Sam Beckett.

"I suppose now that the cat's out of the bag, it's only fair to inform all of you what is going on here," Zoey told them. "This man you see before you is Dr. Samuel Beckett. In the year 1999, he will have launched a time travel project, the most successful of its time. In order to travel through time, he often leaps into the places of different people. And as for all of you, he has either leaped into your place or leaped into the place of those people close to you."

Abigail Fuller broke away from the rest of the group and walked towards Sam.

"I know I haven't met you like this before," Abigail told Sam. "But I recognize you. I recognize that same look in your eyes that I saw in my father and Will. Tell me, is it true that you took their place?"

Sam looked at his own wife and then he looked back at Abigail hesitantly before replying.

"Yes," he confirmed. "I was also in Will's place during the time you two were to married."

He was unsure what to say beyond that. Would Abigail despise him for completing the leap as her father only for her father to die? Would she be aghast that it had been him who had been with her on her wedding night instead of Will?

Before Abigail could say anything, Zoey interrupted.

"Most of you were never meant to find justice or peace," Zoey further informed them, looking especially contemptuously at Jimmy. "However, thanks to Dr. Beckett, many of your lives were saved, regardless of whether you knew about it or not. You were never conscious of this fact before but now you are. Sam Beckett has changed history to save all of you."

"The chapel that we had gained," Sister Angela looked at Sam. "It was all because of you?"

"And regaining my faith wasn't due to Father Pistano's help, was it?" Father Mac asked. "It was you in his place?"

"Yes," Sam acknowledged. "Yes to all of your questions. I'm sorry if I mislead any of you in any way. But for each journey I had a mission to complete and many times that mission involved leaping into people close to you or into your place."

"You should all be grateful," Zoey reminded them. "Had it not been for Dr. Beckett, most of you would either be dead or wallowing in absolute misery!"

"Then why bring all of them here?" asked Sam. "Why not let them return to their original time?"

"Because, just as you leaped into their lives for a reason," Zoey informed him. "All these people will be here for a special reason as well."

"Why are you doing this to us?" demanded Donna.

"Well, this wasn't exactly my idea," Zoey smiled. "I'll let the head of this operation take over now."

"In truth, thou hast loved many women across thy journey," Kairos walked in front of Sam and Donna.

"That's true," Sam told him. "Believe me, I would take it all back if I could but in order for me to leap, I had to complete the mission by any means necessary."

"Hmph," Kairos snorted. "I wonder how thy bride feels about such a thing."

"Sam and I have discussed this," Donna stated firmly. "I was the one who told Al to never reveal to him again that he had a wife during his leaps. I needed Sam to make his leaps and come back to me one day by any means necessary!"

"Thou art a strong-willed woman indeed," Kairos paced around Sam and Donna like a tiger stalking its prey. "Tell me, what would thou do in the event thy husband's infidelity resulted in… complications?"

With that, he pointed his staff towards Abigail Fuller.

"While thy husband was under mine enchantments," Kairos informed her, "he admitted to me a dalliance with this woman during one of his leaps that had resulted in a child being born. Tell me, Donna Eleese-Beckett, is thy love for thy husband still so steadfast?"

Donna did her best not to show the turmoil of emotions that were churning in her own heart. Slowly, she looked towards her husband.

"Yes," she said resolutely.

Kairos then pointed his staff towards Sam Beckett.

"Thy wife is steadfast in her love for you," he told Sam. "But is thy love as strong?"

The time mage took special care to glance over at Abigail.

"Yes it is," Sam took Donna in his arms.

However, Sam's eyes began to waver for a second as he looked from his wife to Abigail, the one woman he had also genuinely fallen in love with during his many years of leaping.

"Thy gaze is wavering," Kairos said almost gleefully. "Perhaps thy mind has not yet decided."

Without warning, Kairos stretched out his hand and Sam was sent flying by an invisible force. He slammed against the wall, sliding down as a wave of pain washed over his back and head.

That same invisible force also forced Donna to her knees. Kairos then turned his gaze towards Abigail and with that same invisible power, forced her down only a few feet away from Donna.

Zoey took one of the swords mounted from the wall and handed it to the time mage.

"Time to make a choice," she said mockingly to Sam as the quantum physicist got to his feet.

"Let them go!" Sam shouted. "Take me instead!"

"You've loved both women," Zoey told him. "Now is the time for you to choose."

"Choose wisely, for only one shall return to thee alive," Kairos warned, holding the sword over Abigail's shoulder.

"I… I can't," Sam stammered, falling to both knees. "Don't make me do this! I'm begging you… please let both of them go! I don't know what I've done to wrong you but take me in their place!"

"The clock is ticking, Dr. Beckett!" Zoey taunted.

"You monsters!" Father Mac cried.

The Catholic priest tried to enter into the fray but quickly a soldier got him in a chokehold from behind and pointed a gun into his temple.

"Don't move, priest!" the soldier warned.

Father Mac elbowed the soldier and knocked him back. He punched out another soldier next to him. However, several more soldiers intervened, overwhelming the priest in sheer numbers and beating him unconscious.

"Get off of him!" Roy tried to pry the soldiers off.

Unfortunately for him, he was not as strong as Father Mac. A backhand from one of the soldiers quickly knocked him down and out. Soon, everyone from Sam's past was subdued.

"Stop this all of you!" Abigail cried, even though Kairos held the sword close to her neck. "Can't you see how much you're hurting him?"

"That would be the point," Zoey pointed out.

"Sam has done so much for me even without me knowing it," Abigail said softly. "He even gave me the greatest joy of my life, Sammy Jo. He's given meaning to my life and I can't do otherwise for him. Take me in his wife's stead."

"A valiant effort," Kairos told her, "but this is a decision only Sam Beckett can make for himself."

With tears in his eyes, Sam finally looked up.

"You son of a bitch!" Sam cried. "Let them both go."

Without warning, Sam charged, attempting to tackle Kairos away from the two women. Unfortunately for him, the time mage phased away just before Sam made contact, causing the quantum physicist to crash into one of the tables.

As he looked up, he saw Kairos once more, this time right in front of Donna.

"I warned thee," Kairos told him. "If thou did not choose, the choice would be made for thee."

He held up the sword menacingly as Donna looked sorrowfully at Sam.

"Whatever happens Sam," she said tearfully to her husband. "Know that I love you forever."

With that, Kairos plunged the sword right through Donna's stomach. As blood flowed down the blade, Donna fell to the floor with her hands outstretched.

"Donna!" screamed Sam.

Soon, Donna moved no more as Sam began sobbing uncontrollably. Slowly, he crawled over to her fallen body. In sorrow, Abigail hugged Sam from behind, tears also flowing freely from her own eyes.

"Sentimental fool," Zoey said mockingly.

"Why?" Sam slammed his hand into the ground. "Why?!"

Sister Angela also went to Sam's side in sadness. She wished she had the right words to say… perhaps some way of helping Sam cope with the grief. In that moment, she wished that there were some words of comfort or faith to offer to the grieving man. But there was none.

As Sam cradled Donna's head, the soldiers closed in on him.

oooo

Al Calavicci was not exactly sure what had just happened to him but so far, he was still alive and ticking.

The older man got up, realizing that wherever he was, it was not a pretty scene.

He was in some sort of village that resembled something straight out of a Renaissance Fair. Unfortunately, much of the place had been destroyed as fires burned on top of the roofs. On the ground, there were multiple bodies lying there.

Had he not arrived under less auspicious circumstances, Al would have very much liked to explore the place.

Through the smoke, a man ran out, crashing into Al. He was a long haired man in about his late forties with hair that looked like it was graying already.

"Who art thou?" the man demanded, surveying the suit that Al was wearing. "And what manner of clothes are these?"

"You tell me!" Al shook his head, dazed from falling down.

"Beware the Saxons!" the man got up as well. "Get as far away from here as—"

The man was not able to finish his sentence as an arrow pierced his heart, killing him. As the stranger's body fell to the floor, Al saw several warriors heading to his direction.

They were all powerful grizzled men. None of them were clean-shaven and each individual warrior wore either some kind of armor with a helmet, some animal skins, or some combination of both. From where he was, Al counted at least six or seven.

"Uh oh," Al backed away.

"Who's this stranger?" one of the barbaric warriors stepped forward, unsheathing his sword.

Against the backdrop of the burning houses, Al backed away as the Saxon warriors closed in on him menacingly


	13. Darkness Falls

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Darkness Falls_

_478 AD._

Slowly, Al backed away as the Saxon warriors closed in on him.

"So, what do we have here?" one of the brusque warrior stepped forward. "A Roman consul?"

"Well not exactly," Al replied, "though I am Italian on my father's side."

"He can't be a consul," another Saxon warrior offered. "Not even the Romans would wear clothing this bizarre!"

"Hey, I'll have you know I'm wearing fine polyester!" Al protested.

A crossbowman stepped forth and grabbed Al by the scruff of his neck.

"I don't recall giving you permission to talk!" the bearded Saxon growled.

At once, Al shut up, realizing the dire situation he was in.

"You gonna teach him a lesson, Sabert?" another Saxon warrior leered.

"Yeah, let's see if he squeals as loudly as those Romans we gutted three days ago!" a large obese Saxon grinned.

"Not just yet," Sabert finally let go of Al. "Let's see what rewards this strangely dressed man will yield."

Al looked around him. Thus far he was surrounded and there was little chance of escape with all the Saxons surrounding him. And even if he were able to find some distance and run away, the crossbowman Sabert could simply shoot him in the back.

"Now I give you permission to speak," Sabert smiled. "Tell me, where do you come from?"

"Gee, where do I even begin?" Al glared at Sabert. "I live in New Mexico right now but I've been all over the place more or less."

The look on Sabert's face indicated that he was not pleased with Al's answer.

Rearing back, he punched Al across the face, knocking the observer down.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for," Sabert growled.

Al shook his head trying to clear the sudden shock of being punched as the Saxons closed in on him.

"Roman or not, you clearly have no idea who we are," Sabert aimed his crossbow at Al.

"Consider yourself lucky Sabert is putting you out of your misery," the massive Saxon next to the crossbowman grinned. "Our leader would cut out your tongue and make it a lot slower!"

"After I put an arrow through his skull, the rest of you search him and see what valuables he has," Sabert ordered.

Before Sabert could pull down on the trigger, an arrow whizzed through the air and struck him right in the shoulder.

"Agh!" Sabert spun around, being knocked off balance.

Just as he spun, he fired the arrow from his crossbow right into the skull of the large Saxon next to him, incapacitating and killing the massive brute in one blow.

As Sabert fell to the ground clutching his injured shoulder, two more arrows whizzed through the air, piercing the hearts of two of the other Saxon warriors.

"What the?" Al looked up at the direction of his savior.

It was a woman dressed in green garbs. She had short red hair and was armed with a bow and several arrows, in addition to a sword hanging by her waist.

"Get her!" Sabert shouted at his remaining warriors.

The two Saxons attacked the woman, who took out her own sword and deflected both their swings.

Sabert got up, reaching for his crossbow with his good arm. Just as he did, however, Al stepped down on the weapon.

"Looking for this?" Al taunted.

Al kicked Sabert straight in the face, knocking him on his back.

Just as Al had incapacitated the crossbowman, the woman who had saved him disarmed and cut down the two Saxons who had been attacking her.

"My name is Alia," she turned her attention back to Al. "Now come with me quickly!"

Al did not need to be told twice to leave the burnt ruins all around him.

oooo

At some point, Al Calavicci finally realized that his own age was catching up to him as he had to lean himself next to a tree to catch his breath. His savior, on the other hand, was sprinting much faster than him by several yards.

Luckily, she noticed he was trailing behind and went back to him.

"Are you alright?" Alia asked.

"Just peachy," Al breathed. "Give me a moment to catch my breath, will ya?"

Alia looked down the trail they had run from. There was no hint of any Saxon warriors chasing after them.

"I think we're safe for the moment," Alia told him.

"Thanks for saving my bacon," Al told her.

"Bacon," Alia smiled. "Now there's a welcome image. Too bad it won't be invented for several more centuries."

"You," Al stared at her incredulously. "You're from the future, aren't you?"

"I could ask the same of you," Alia looked at Al more seriously. "Your clothes come from modern times."

"That's right," Al confirmed.

"What's your name if you don't mind me asking?" Alia asked.

"I'm Al," the former naval officer replied. "Al Calavicci."

"You're him, aren't you?" inquired Alia. "You're the observer for Dr. Sam Beckett, right? I never saw you but he always talked to you, and about you."

"I am," confirmed Al. "You were also that young woman Alia that Sam helped save from those evil leapers, weren't you?"

Alia nodded.

"Ziggy told me you had been sent somewhere safe," Al told her. "I just had no idea you were sent back in time well over a millennium ago."

"It came as just as big of a surprise to me as it did you," Alia admitted to Al.

"That's one way to avoid Project Chronos looking for you," Al grinned slyly. "Leap beyond the time range they're capable of calculating! Just brilliant!"

"And it worked," Alia confessed, "though coming back to the early Middle Ages had its own set of challenges… like trying to survive day to day without being murdered, robbed, or maimed."

"I bet!" agreed Al.

"Even with Project Chronos off my back, surviving in these times was a challenge," Alia told Al. "Lucky for me, I had help from a woman who found me and aided me in surviving these harsh times."

"Who is she?" asked Al.

"Her name is Nevena," Alia replied. "She's a Celtic sorceress."

"She's a witch?" Al raised an eyebrow. He had had enough of witches and warlocks to last him a life time.

"I wouldn't have thought it possible back in our time," Alia nodded. "But having seen her and what she can do, the magic she works is all too real."

"Fair enough," Al sighed. "So you think she can help us? Maybe give us some shelter until I figure out how to get back to Sam?"

"Actually, I think there's a chance she can help the both of us," Alia said excitedly. "I've been working with her on special time magic which could restore me to my original time. And now that we're both here, we can both go back."

"Let's hope she can get it done as soon as possible," Al said nervously.

"Why?" asked Alia. "What's going on?"

"It's Sam," Al admitted. "He's not exactly in a very good spot right now."

"Is he hurt?" Alia looked worried.

"I don't know," Al confessed, "but what I do know is that he's being held captive by Project Chronos."

"In that case we'd better hurry back to Nevena's place," Alia got up. "Please tell me the rest along the way."

oooo

_Present Day._

"Look at you," Dr. Oliver stared at Sam Beckett pitiably in his jail cell. "You're pathetic."

"You try losing someone you love," Sam said quietly and despondently.

The rest of Sam's friends had been locked away in separate cells, far away from the quantum physicist. Though Sam was responding back, Dr. Oliver noticed how Sam had become nearly lifeless in almost all his replies. But then again, losing a loved one had that kind of effect on a person.

"And all the fight's been taken out of you," Dr. Oliver frowned.

"All the people you've taken from their own times," Sam told Dr. Oliver. "Take them back to their own eras… please."

"That's not my decision to make," Dr. Oliver admitted. "It's Kairos and Zoey who are in charge now. It's funny… even now you're trying to be a do-gooder after all that's happened to you."

Sam did not reply. He only stared blankly into the ceiling. By now, the tears on his face had all but dried up.

"It probably would be entertaining to watch you suffer some more," Dr. Oliver acknowledged. "But then again, without your research, Project Chronos wouldn't be around today. I'll go see if I can convince my superiors to put you out of your misery and deliver a bullet to your head. You've earned that much at least!"

Sam still said nothing.

"It's a shame really," William Oliver said aloud. "Believe it or not, there used to be a time when I admired and respected both you and your work. But now? Now I see you're just a lovesick fool who can't stand on his two feet without a woman to hold his hand!"

With that, Dr. William Oliver chuckled and walked away leaving behind a near-lifeless Sam in his jail cell.

Before he reached the door that led out of the dungeon, he felt a buzzing sound in his pocket.

"Dr. Oliver speaking," he said.

The voice on the other side said something that made his eyes brighten.

"The funds have been delivered to my private accounts?" Dr. Oliver beamed. "Excellent!"

oooo

_478 AD_

"It's just right over there beyond those hills!" Alia pointed out.

"Looks picturesque," Al admitted.

Before them was a small cottage surrounded by layers of stones. In spite of the Saxon presence, this area seemed like it was relatively spoiled and untouched.

"So this is where Nevena lives, huh?" asked Al as he continued to walk with Alia.

"Yes, she lives here with her two children, a boy and a girl," Alia replied.

"I'm afraid to ask what happened to the father," Al confessed, remembering the high mortality rates of the Early Middle Ages.

"He was a Roman soldier stationed here but he was killed by the Saxons," Alia told him mournfully.

"I know the feeling," Al confessed. "At a young age, my mother abandoned me and my sister Trudy. And because my dad was so busy with his work, we became as good as orphans."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Alia looked down.

"Ah, it's all water under the bridge now," Al waved it off. "Hopefully her two kids will be able to grow up and have a better life in spite of what's going on during this time."

"I think these two will do just fine," Alia smiled. "After all, when your mother is a powerful witch, there aren't a whole lot of things that can scare you."

"Speaking of which, after you were leaped here, did you finally figure out who you were and why Project Chronos had you leaping about in time?" Al asked out of curiosity.

"I did," Alia confessed. "After I leaped out of that women's prison, I regained all of my memories in this era. Do you know who Professor Lothoman is?"

"Yes," Al answered her. "He was the one who created Project Chronos after he and Professor LoNigro worked together to build upon Sam's theories."

"Nathaniel and I were to be engaged," said Alia softly. "I was his fiancée."

"Whoa, you mean you and Dr. Lothoman were…" Al trailed off.

"In a romantic relationship?" Alia said honestly. "Yes."

"You learn something new every day," Al muttered in surprise.

"Do you also know who Vincent Wellington is?" asked Alia.

"Unfortunately I do," Al grimaced.

"Nathaniel died under suspicious circumstances," Alia told her new companion. "I was grief-stricken and Zoey was there for me at the time. She told me there was a chance I could save his life if I stepped into the quantum accelerator and leaped back in time. At the time I believed her so I did what she told me."

"That lying bitch!" Al cursed, not watching his own language in that moment. "She and Wellington were counting on you going back in time and being so Swiss-cheesed in your memories that you would forget why you had leaped back in time!"

"After I realized everything that had happened when I came to this era, a whole bunch of emotions came flooding back," Alia confessed. "First I was in shock, then in grief, then enraged… but I couldn't hold on to those emotions for long. An era like this would not have been kind to a woman like me from modern times. However, with Nevena's help, I managed to slowly piece my life back together."

"I can see that," Al looked at the sword at her thigh, along with the crossbow she held in her right hand.

"Here we are," Alia arrived at the door finally.

After knocking on it, the door opened up to reveal a woman in her late twenties along with a brunette boy and a blonde girl.

"Alia!" Nevena greeted her friend with a hug. "How art thee?"

"Doing good, Nevena!" Alia smiled.

"I see thou hast brought a friend," Nevena ushered Al in.

"Al Calavicci, at your service," Al gave her a polite nod.

"Al… also comes from my era," Alia told Nevena. "May he be allowed to stay here for the time being?"

"Yes of course," Nevena ushered the two in.

The young boy went over to Al and gave him some bread and a drink.

"Thank you," Al smiled.

"These are mine children," Nevena told him. "The boy is Sanctus and the girl is Sabina."

"I'm pleased to meet all of you," Al told them.

"Their father was a Roman soldier named Regulus," Nevena told Al. "Ever since his death, I've been raising the two on mine own."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Al said to her softly.

"Under ordinary circumstances, raising two children without a father would be a problem for any woman," Nevena raised up her hand.

At once, a ball of fire appeared in her hands.

"Holy Toledo!" Al fell back on his seat.

"You'll get used to it," Alia assured him. "Nevena is no ordinary woman."

"I learned these abilities from mine own mother," Nevena said to Al. "We come from a long line of witches."

"Isn't it amazing?" Sanctus asked Al.

"Yeah," Al finally agreed. "Yeah, it certainly is…"

With the fireball in her hand, Nevena lit the cauldron on fire from underneath.

"I am certain thou art tired and hungry," Nevena said to Al. "Please, tell me all about thy situation after dinner."

oooo

_Present Day._

"So I see Dr. Oliver has been embezzling money from Project Chronos for his own private offshore accounts," Zoey sat cross-legged at the table.

"Y-Yes ma'am," the accountant said.

He was a frail, nervous man and his anxiety was made even worse by the fact that Zoey had found him out.

"How long has this been going on?" she asked him.

"He began doing this sometime last month under Vincent Wellington," the accountant told her. "Today was the first time he did it this month."

"I always knew he was a rat," Zoey growled.

She got up, turning her full attention back to the accountant.

"Zoey, please," the accountant begged. "Dr. Oliver tricked me into doing this. He told me it was for an offshoot of Project Chronos in the Caribbean. I had no idea it was for his personal benefit!"

Zoey, however, would not have any of his excuses, sincere or not. In a rage, she grabbed the man by the throat.

"Aagh!" the man cried.

Squeezing down, Zoey drained the man of all his energy and youth until he was nothing more than a zombified corpse. When the last pulse left the account, Zoey let him go.

"It would appear that I will need more dependable enforcers for our project," she said to herself.

After a brief moment of contemplation, an idea came to her. It was utterly risky and had the potential to jeopardize the timestream but it was still a brilliant plan in her mind.

Quickly, Zoey grabbed the hourglass on her necklace, enveloping herself with its powers and teleporting herself directly into the dungeon where she stood before a shocked Vincent Wellington.

"Zoey!" cried Wellington. "What the blazes?"

"Hello Vincent," she told him. "I imagine at this point, you are growing tired of your drab jail cell?"

"You're here to finally kill me, aren't you?" asked Wellington. "I can see it in your eyes!"

"Nonsense!" Zoey told him with a gleam in her eyes. "I've finally come here to set you free!"

"I can see it in your eyes," Wellington told her. "That magical artifact and the warlock have made you unhinged!"

Zoey calmly opened up the door and strolled over towards Vincent Wellington.

"Mr. Wellington, I would like to personally thank you for all your years of service and all the great things you've done for Project Chronos," she told him.

With that, she grabbed Vincent Wellington and embraced him in a kiss. As she locked lips with him, the hourglass glowed and surrounded Wellington with a red leaper's aura, transporting him back in time.

Zoey let go finally and backed away as the red leaper's aura finally faded, revealing a different man standing in Vincent Wellington's place.

"What is this?" the man demanded. "Who are you?!"

He stared at Zoey in utter disbelief, his eyes revealing the composure and disposition of an utterly stone cold killer.

"Welcome to the future, Mr. Lee Harvey Oswald," Zoey greeted with a warm smile.

At once, Lee Harvey Oswald reached for his gun. However, with a wave of her hand, Zoey froze him in place, leaving nothing but his baleful eyes moving.

"You're not with them, are you?" demanded Oswald, his mouth being the only feature on his body that wasn't frozen.

"You mean Project Quantum Leap?" Zoey scoffed. "Fortunately no… but I do know that you've crossed paths with them in the past. In fact, I would like to offer you the chance for revenge."

"Revenge?" Oswald's lips twisted into a smile. "I'm listening."

oooo

_November 24, 1963._

By the time the leaper's aura had cleared, Vincent Wellington found himself being escorted by several policemen and a throng of other people.

"What the—" Wellington stared ahead.

In front of him was an armored car. It appeared that he was a prisoner being taken somewhere for federal custody.

"Where are you taking me?" Wellington demanded.

"Save it, Oswald!" the policeman next to him stated gruffly.

"Oswald?" Wellington murmured to himself.

From out of the crowd, a man in a dark suit and hat stepped out.

As Wellington turned around, he noted with great alarm that the man was holding a revolver in his hand.

Vincent Wellington tried to shout but before he could, the assassin fired a shot into his abdomen, fatally wounding the former head of Project Chronos. As Wellington crumpled to the floor, the police immediately subdued his assassin.

Quickly, the police moved to collect the man's ID.

"Jack Ruby, huh?" the police officer held down the assailant.

"You killed the President, you rat!" Jack Ruby shouted as blood began to flow from Wellington's body.

Vincent Wellington looked up into the sky as his vision grew dimmer. After all his life's hard work, it was coming down to this? In bitterness, he clutched his wounded side, a part of him refusing to accept the fact that he was dying. In all this time, he never thought he would have fallen victim to the wiles of time travel itself.

"Can't… believe this," Wellington cursed, watching the blood flow from his abdomen.

Soon, darkness began to close in on him. But to everybody else in the crowd, they did not see Vincent Wellington dying. All they saw was the wounded body of Lee Harvey Oswald slowly fading away. The leaper's aura surrounding him made sure that even though he was soon to be a corpse, his appearance from his hair all the way to his dentures looked exactly like that of the infamous Mr. Oswald.

This time, the leaper's aura that Zoey had cast upon him made sure he would maintain the appearance of Oswald's corpse even after his death.

oooo

_478 AD._

"Thank you very much for your hospitality," Al Calavicci said to Nevena after they were done with their meal.

"Thou art very gracious indeed," Nevena noted.

"Hey, I still have two drumsticks left," Al noted, picking one up with his utensils and giving it to Sanctus.

"Thanks to thee!" Sanctus said to his new friend.

"Oh, and one more for you," Al took one final drumstick and placed it on Sabina's plate.

In return, Sabina smiled cheerfully at him.

"I have been working upon a magical item which may aid thee in returning home," Nevena said to Al and Alia.

"The time staff," Alia told Al.

Al froze in fear.

"The what now?" he asked.

"The time staff," Alia repeated, confused at Al's sudden trepidation. "Nevena has been working to unravel the secrets of time and space."

"Something is troubling thee," Nevena realized.

"I come from the future and… there's this dark sorcerer," Al admitted to the Celtic witch. "Somehow he got a hold of your time staff and twisted it for his own uses. It's how I was sent back here in the first place."

Nevena's face looked troubled at the revelation.

"What kind of sorcerer is he?" she asked.

"I don't know," Al admitted. "But he's one nasty piece of work."

"So in the future my time staff will fall into the wrong hands," Nevena looked down.

"Nevena?" asked Alia.

"Perhaps… after I send the two of thee back, something will have to be done about the time staff," Nevena looked up at the future time travelers. "If what thou says is true and my staff falls into the wrong hands, I will have to prevent it somehow."

She looked down at Sabina and Sanctus.

"But even so, my children deserve to have their father back," Nevena looked forlorn.

"You won't destroy it, will you?" asked Alia. "All this time you've been wanting to use it to bring back Regulus."

"Perhaps I will have no choice but to destroy it after I bring Regulus back," Nevena said a bit more resolutely. "After all, interfering with the fabric of time too much can yield disastrous consequences."

"Maybe when we do that, we can prevent that time mage from coming about!" Al's face brightened.

"Be ready for tomorrow then," Nevena told the two of them. "We head to the standing stones to perform the ritual."

Outside of the home, unbeknownst to the five people inside, there was a stranger standing very close to the wooden door, listening in on the entire conversation.

Sabert smiled as he held his crossbow in the air. All this time he had been trailing Al and Alia until they finally reached Nevena's place. Thanks to his skills as both a hunter and a tracker, he had avoided detection from the two the entire journey in spite of his own injured arm.

"Wulfsige will want to hear of this," Sabert whispered.

Without another word, Sabert left the scene, making his way over the stone walls and back into the forests.

oooo

_Present Day._

"What is the meaning of this?" Kairos demanded.

The time mage stood there angrily deep in the dungeons with several of the soldiers. They were in a lower chamber of the dungeon where a round center of the room connected to seven prison cells surrounding the center like planets orbiting the sun.

Right in front of him were Zoey and Lee Harvey Oswald himself.

"What hast thou done?" Kairos pointed his finger at Lee Harvey Oswald.

"Well since I figured Vincent would no longer be doing us any good, I'd pave the way for his successor," Zoey answered matter-of-factly.

"Thou hast disposed of Wellington without mine permission," Kairos raged. "And thou hast also tampered with time by bringing an interloper from a different time period into this modern age!"

"I could argue the same for you," Zoey said to Kairos. "You don't belong in this time era anymore than the infamous Mr. Oswald does."

The whole time Lee Harvey Oswald could only stare at the two in wonderment.

"Thou hast tried my patience far too many times," Kairos raised a hand.

At once the necklace around her neck carrying the hourglass shrank and wrapped itself around Zoey's neck like an assassin's wire, strangling the life out of her slowly.

"K-Kairos!" Zoey rasped.

"Thy pleas will do thee no good!" Kairos growled.

Soon, Oswald forgot about all his fears as a new emotion overtook him. He saw several soldiers taking a familiar man out. It was none other than Sam Beckett of Project Quantum Leap. Sam's face was a face he recognized from the waiting room when he and Dr. Beckett switched places.

"You!" shouted Oswald.

Sam barely raised his head up in time as Oswald rushed towards him, knocking the guards aside and punching Sam with enough force to send him crashing against the wall.

Ruthlessly, Oswald punched Sam in the stomach, knocking the breath out of him. As soon as Sam had fallen on both knees, Oswald kicked Sam in the ribs repeatedly until the soldiers grabbed him and dragged him away.

"You ruined everything!" screamed Oswald. "You ruined the revolution! You took my life away from me!"

Finally, Kairos stopped his magical stranglehold on Zoey and allowed the necklace to loosen itself from her neck. The level of brutality Oswald had shown towards Sam Beckett was strangely appealing to him.

"Perhaps I had misjudged thy actions," Kairos told her. "This man may make a good enforcer for us yet."

Seething, Zoey glared at Kairos for what he had done to her. Inwardly, she was furious at having been treated that way.

"You!" Sam looked up in shock at Oswald. "It can't be. You died!"

"They were both supposed to die!" Oswald declared. "Kennedy and that bitch he calls a wife! Then the proletariats would overrun this festering capitalist society!"

Without warning, Oswald elbowed a guard in the face while grabbing his gun at the same time and yanking it out. The assassin pointed the gun at Sam but just as he blinked, the gun went missing from his hands.

To the side was Kairos with the gun in his hand. Having frozen time, he moved fast enough to be a blur and took the gun from Oswald's hands like it was nothing.

"I assure thee, Sam Beckett shall meet his end," Kairos promised.

"Then why not let me pull the trigger?" demanded Lee Harvey Oswald.

"Because," Kairos answered, "why deprive Dr. Beckett of the suffering he has so rightfully earned?"

At hearing that, a sinister smile crossed the face of the infamous Lee Harvey Oswald.

oooo

_478 AD._

After crossing the moat, Sabert entered into the dining halls of the fortress he and his fellow Saxons had erected.

He walked past several guards who were sleeping on their duty. Normally he would have reprimanded them for that but for the moment, he wished to speak with the leader even more.

Several dogs began barking at him but he ignored them. Sabert opened up the doors of the dining halls and entered. Inside were multiple Saxon warriors, feasting and drinking.

At the far end of the table was a man dressed in both armor and wolfskin. He was a powerfully built man with long gray hair and an eyepatch.

As soon as Sabert came in view of the Saxon warlord, he knelt down and bowed.

"Lord Wulfsige," Sabert acknowledged.

"What do you want, Sabert?" asked the Saxon warlord brusquely. "Were you not my nephew, I would have you impaled for interrupting me at this time."

"I bring you news of a Celtic farm I had discovered," Sabert told his uncle, Wolfsige. "They are housing a man and a woman who managed to slay some of our warriors recently."

"Then they will pay," promised Wulfsige. "But not at this moment. Tomorrow we are preparing to besiege a Roman settlement that has reneged on its payments."

"I overheard some of the conversations in there," Sabert informed the Saxon warlord. "The woman who possesses that property is the widow of Regulus."

At once, Wulfsige's interest was piqued.

"Regulus, you say?" Wulfsige smiled. "I remember personally cutting him down. I was unaware he had a family."

"From what I overheard, she has two children," Sabert went on. "Once they come of age, it is only natural they would try to seek you out for revenge. Why leave any loose ends?"

"Very well then," Wulfsige got up. "The siege will have to wait. Tomorrow I wish to pay my condolences to a grieving widow and her lovely children!"

_Author's Note_: This is just me taking a bit of artistic license/liberties but in my particular story, the Saxons will be speaking in a far more coarse and rough way without any Old English terms or phrases to put more emphasis on them being barbarian warriors.


	14. Darkness Rising

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Darkness Rising_

_478 AD._

Though it was night time, Al Calavicci could not go to sleep. Already the stars were shining outside and though Alia had already gone to bed before him, he still felt the urgency of trying to get back to Sam.

He looked up into the sky at the shining stars. In that moment, he was reminded of the moment he had to tell Donna that Sam was still leaping across time with his memories of her erased during the time Sam willingly leaped back to save Al from being killed.

This time, however, he was the one back in time and Sam wasn't in a particularly good spot right now. The chances of Sam coming to his rescue this time were quite low.

"Al?" a young boy's voice alerted him.

"Sanctus!" Al turned around to see the boy before him.

"Art thou worried about thy friend?" asked Sanctus.

"Yeah, I am," admitted Al. "I take it you couldn't sleep?"

"No," Sanctus shook his head. "I want to ask thee about something."

"What is it?" Al sat down, beckoning Sanctus to sit down on the smaller stone next to him.

"Thou art from the future," Sanctus looked up at Al with wide eyes. "What is it like?"

"Well, uh, it's very different from now," Al replied. "For one thing, people won't be riding horses nearly as much as they do now."

"How will they go to different destinations?" inquired Sanctus.

"For one thing, there will be horseless carriages," Al said to the boy, trying his best not to reveal _too_ much. "They'll be even faster than horses!"

Even though it was dark, Al could still see the light in the boy's eyes as he looked on in fascination.

"Tell me," begged Sanctus. "Will there be as much war and violence in thy time as there is now?"

"There's still violence in my times," Al revealed honestly. "But where I come from, there aren't any barbarian warriors threatening the land with their armies."

"Then peace flourishes in thy time?"

"More or less," confirmed Al.

"Wilt thou be able to take mine mother, sister, and myself back to your time?" Sanctus said almost pleadingly.

Al stared at the young boy with remorse. The fact that he was time-displaced was bad enough but to bring someone from medieval times back to the present? There was no telling what else could go wrong.

"I can't," Al shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but time travel is a very complicated thing. We all have our own struggles and crosses to bear in each different time era. I may not be facing barbarian raids in my time but right now a very close friend of mine is in serious trouble. He's being held captive by some very bad people right now and I don't know what will happen to him."

"Mine apologies," Sanctus lowered his head. "I had no idea thou was facing such a terrible crisis."

"It's okay," Al sat down. "Like I said, we all have our cross to bear. I may not be able to help my friend right now but you still have the chance to help your beautiful mother and adorable sister. One day you'll be a man and when that day comes, promise me you'll build a better tomorrow for your mom and younger sister."

"I promise," Sanctus nodded.

"I had a sister named Trudy once," Al explained to the boy. "Unfortunately when I was young, circumstances tore us apart and I was never able to save her."

As Al looked up, a shooting star made its way across the night sky. Right then and there he felt a twinge of emotion.

"Why?" asked Sanctus with consternation. "Why was she taken from thee?"

"Because," Al said, feeling his eyes water, "life isn't fair. It never has been. Sanctus, promise me that when I'm gone, you'll look out for your sister Sabina the way I wasn't able to look out for Trudy."

"I promise," Sanctus agreed.

"Well let's get you inside," Al ushered the young boy in. "Pretty sure your mom won't want you being outside this late."

oooo

_Present Day._

"Dr. Beckett," William Oliver walked over towards Sam's cell.

Sam looked up, not bothering to talk to the man.

"Now, I know you're not happy to see me but hear me out," Dr. Oliver said to Sam. "From one scientist to another, I really meant it when I said I once really admired your work."

"Is that so?" Sam looked down glumly.

"Believe it or not, yes," Dr. Oliver said sincerely. "Which is why I'm here."

"Come to put an end to me finally?" Sam Beckett barely glanced at him.

"Actually no," Dr. Oliver put both hands on the prison bars. "Listen, I'm certainly not here to save you or set you free."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Let's just say I finally realized I owe a lot to you and your research," Dr. Oliver confessed, "which is why I want to ease your final hours before either Zoey or that warlock come to kill you."

Next to Dr. Oliver, two guards appeared with Abigail Fuller besides them.

"This won't bring back your wife," Dr. Oliver spoke honestly, "but I know you were close to this woman. Maybe you'd like some company for your final hours."

Sam got up as the guards opened the cell and let Abigail inside before closing it again.

"Sam, I'm sorry for what happened to your wife," Abigail hugged Sam.

"This doesn't change anything between us," Sam glared at Dr. Oliver.

"No I don't expect it to," Dr. Oliver shrugged, "not that it'll matter."

The leading scientist for Project Chronos gestured for the guards to leave.

"Well… my good deed of the decade is done," he walked off.

Both Sam and Abigail looked at each other and only hugged one another more tightly.

oooo

_478 AD._

"Al, are you awake?" Alia nudged the older man.

"Oooh, what I wouldn't give for a warm breakfast and hot shower right now," Al mumbled, forcing himself to open his eyes.

"The hot breakfast is feasible," Alia promised him. "Warm showers… not so much."

"Right," Al finally got up. "I forgot which time period I was in…"

As Al got up, he slipped his jacket on and walked out of his room.

"There you guys are," Al rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up fully.

"I trust sleep was comforting to thee?" asked Nevena.

"Of course," Al agreed. "It's just that I feel I could use five more hours of it…"

"Al, I think you've been asleep for over eight hours already," Alia reminded him.

"That long, huh?" Al grimaced. "Guess all the stuff back in the modern era with Sam and myself took a lot more out of me than I thought."

"Today we journey to the standing stones," Nevena informed him.

"The standing stones…" Al pondered. "Oh, you mean Stonehenge?"

"That would be it," Alia confirmed.

"Mother, might we come along?" asked Sabina.

"Of course darling," promised Nevena.

"I've gathered the items as you've requested," Alia placed the hourglass and the time staff on the table.

"Excellent," Nevena beamed. "We will need these to complete the spell of time."

"Hard to believe they fall into the wrong hands in the future," Alia turned to Al.

"Hate to say it but they do," Al shook his head. "Nevena, do you know of any dark sorcerers around here?"

"No," Nevena shook her head. "I know of no other witches in my area. Mine own mother belonged to a coven of witches but they were massacred by the Saxons in an ambush."

"Mother, the horse is ready!" Sanctus entered into the home.

"Then let us make haste," Nevena told her guests.

oooo

_Present Day._

"Where is he, damn it?!" Zoey looked around the room in frustration.

"I'm afraid he isn't here ma'am," one of the soldiers told her.

"Dr. Oliver will be made to pay dearly for embezzling funds from this project," Zoey promised. "Which of you interacted with him last?"

Nervously, one of the soldiers stepped forth.

"Dr. Oliver was down in the dungeon paying Sam Beckett a short visit while I was down there," he said to an angry Zoey.

"What was he doing down there?" demanded Zoey.

"Well, uh, he told us to let that Abigail woman into his cell to keep him company," the soldier replied nervously.

"And you listened to him?" Zoey grabbed the man by the collar roughly. "The whole point of making Sam Beckett suffer is so that he won't have anyone to turn to for emotional support in this time!"

"Zoey, please!" the soldier insisted. "I had no idea Dr. Oliver was embezzling money until you told us!"

After some consideration, Zoey let the man go, deciding to be merciful for the moment.

"We'll find him," Zoey promised.

As the men began searching the room, Zoey turned around and faced a book case. Remembering how the castle had a lot of secret entrances and passageways, she walked towards it and placed her hand on it, moving it to the right to reveal a door leading down a dark passage.

"It won't be long now, William, you rat," Zoey looked down the stairs.

oooo

_478 AD._

On their journey, both Al and Alia sat in the back of the makeshift wagon as Nevena sat at the front with her two children driving the horses towards their destination.

"So, uh, Nevena," asked Al. "How long have you been researching all your time magic?"

"Since I was but a girl," revealed the Celtic sorceress. "In my youth, the witches of my convent knew minor spells to either freeze time or turn back time only by a few moments, but nothing that went beyond a day's length."

"Turning back time even by a few minutes is impressive by any standard," Al admitted.

"Aye," agreed Nevena. "However, when my husband Regulus was slain, I have poured my labor into the study of time magic like never before."

"Our father will come back to us soon!" Sabina added. "With the time staff and the hourglass together, it will surely happen!"

"I would like nothing better," Nevena patted her daughter. "But first, let us get these two back to their proper time and home."

"How did you come upon those items?" asked Al out of curiosity.

"The time staff was of my own doing," Nevena told him. "It was a staff I had worked on with mine own mother before her demise. The hourglass, on the other hand, was a relic I had procured in the land of Eire, said to have belonged to the death goddess Morrigan. It is a powerful magic artifact which responses to the heart and the will of the user who wields it."

"Sounds pretty dangerous if it's coming from a death goddess," Al's eyes widened, realizing that the hourglass was perhaps even older than its museum display had originally indicated.

"Thy concerns are fair," noted Nevena. "Luckily, I proved my ability in a tournament of witches in order to procure the hourglass."

"There's a reason the Saxons rarely make forays into her territory," Alia said to Al confidently.

"Sounds like we've got nothing to worry about then," Al declared confidently.

oooo

_Present Day._

"So because they were threatening to cut funding, you entered the chamber yourself and leaped back in time?" asked Abigail.

At the moment, the two former lovers were deep in conversation.

"Yeah," Sam looked up at the ceiling. "I was so desperate to prove my theory right that I just leaped in without a parachute. And the rest, they say, is history."

"All this time you've been going back in time, changing people's lives for the better," Abigail acknowledged. "All the people you've helped were never meant to live happy lives, were they?"

"No, they weren't," confirmed Sam. "In fact, you know what's funny?"

"What's that?" Abigail inquired.

"Throughout all my leaps," Sam told her. "My memories were Swiss cheesed. I retained memories of some of my abilities and some memories of my past, but never the whole thing. But now that I've returned, all my memories have come back to me, including the knowledge of previous timelines I had changed. And you know the funny part?"

"No," Abigail shook her head.

"Donna and I were actually never meant to get together in history before I changed it," Sam laughed almost bitterly. "She left me standing at the altar originally. But during one of my earliest leaps, I changed history so that she became my wife after all."

With sadness in her eyes, Abigail could see where Sam was going with this.

Sam sighed. "It would have been better for Donna if I had never bothered. Then she wouldn't have to lose her life like this…"

"You can't really believe that, can you?" Abigail squeezed Sam's hand.

"I don't know anymore Abigail," Sam confessed. "I really don't…"

"Just think of all the lives you've changed," Abigail tried to encourage him. "You've given hope to people who didn't have any."

"And now that hope is getting taken away," Sam lowered his head. "Kairos has already brought you and a lot of the other people here. He won't rest until he destroys all the history I've changed."

"You've given me hope, Sam," Abigail told the beleaguered scientist. "You've given me a wonderful daughter, Sammy Jo. I don't even want to think of how my life would be without her!"

"Sammy Jo," Sam finally smiled sincerely for the first time since he had been down in his cell. "I have a feeling she'll be destined for great things…"

Though their current situation was still dire, Abigail felt some relief to see Sam smiling once more.

oooo

_478 AD._

"I see not much has changed even back then," Al got off the wagon just as it pulled up in front of Stonehenge.

"There is enough mystical power in this area to conduct the spell," Nevena confirmed, getting off her horse.

"Here mother," Sabina gave her mother the time staff.

"I guess this is it," Al stepped off the wagon.

"We're finally going home," Alia sighed. "I've been gone from our time for so long that I can't even remember what it's like."

"What will you do when you return?" asked Al.

"I don't know," confessed Alia. "Since the beginning, Nathaniel was the reason I became a leaper in the first place. But now he's gone."

"I'm sorry," Al looked down.

"But Sam Beckett," Alia walked towards the standing stones with Al, "he was the man who finally saved me after all this time leaping about to put things wrong that he once made right. He helped me when I needed it most and I can't do otherwise."

Nevena stood at the center of Stonehenge as her two kids surrounded her. Sanctus held the time staff while Sabina clasped the hourglass in her hand.

"Remain where thou art and I will begin the ritual," Nevena told Al and Alia.

Slowly, Nevena clasped both hands and began chanting in Latin. Soon, she raised her head up as a blue glow emitted from her yes.

"Despite my Catholic roots I never did brush up on my Latin all that carefully," Al whispered to Alia.

At once, Nevena levitated off the ground, floating into the air as she continued chanting.

Both Al and Alia stared at the sorceress in awe, the two of them realizing that coming back to a time era such as this and seeing such a sight would truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"So, your ritual begins, yes?" a distinct voice rang out.

Alia whirled around and unsheathed her sword. It was Sabert standing there with his crossbow, pointed at both her and Al Calavicci.

"You!" snarled Al. "You followed us!"

"Yes and it will not be long now before the rest of our men arrive," confirmed Sabert. "I was merely the tracker."

"Alia!" shouted Sabina. "Stay where thou art! Sanctus and I shall help—"

"Stay back Sabina!" Alia shouted. "Protect your mother!"

Unfortunately, Nevena did not appear to be aware of the situation that was unfolding. She continued floating in the air and chanting her spell, in hopes that it would come to fruition.

Sabert held the crossbow carefully, wondering if he should fire off a shot at Alia or Al first.

He then noticed Nevena floating in the air.

"What?" Sabert gasped. "She… she really is a witch!"

It was the first time he had ever seen a witch defy the laws of nature and the laws of man.

What came next was also a shock to the Saxon warrior. The standing stones next to him began to glow with mystical power as red runes appeared, engraving themselves into the rocks.

In shock, Sabert lowered his crossbow. At that moment, Alia saw her opportunity. Quickly she unsheathed her sword and ran forward, cutting Sabert's crossbow in two.

Sabert stumbled back and fell to the floor.

As he raised his head, he found himself facing the sharp end of Alia's sword.

"You're our hostage now," Alia promised. "Once the Saxons get here, you're going to tell them to turn back."

"Don't count on it," Sabert scoffed. "My uncle Wulfsige is a ruthless man. Once he sets his mind on a course of action, not even family will stand in his way!"

"Who is this Wulfsige?" asked Al.

"A merciless Saxon warlord," Alia answered. "The local Celts and Romans here consider him a demon from hell."

"Oh boy…" Al grimaced. "As if things weren't bad enough in the present..."

oooo

_Present Day._

"I almost forgot to ask," Sam glanced at Abigail. "What are you and Sammy Jo doing now in your original time?"

"Sammy Jo is a wonderful child," Abigail said with great pride. "I've never seen a girl with more life in her than Sammy."

"I have something else to ask you," Sam looked into her eyes. "Why did Will finally leave?"

"I don't know when exactly it happened," confessed Abigail. "I suppose it happened sometime after you leaped out of his body. There were no doctors in town to perform a paternity test… but somehow, Will knew that Sammy Jo wasn't really his."

"So that's why he left," Sam concluded.

"Slowly, the two of us just drifted apart," explained Abigail. "He never laid a hand on me and he didn't have a cross word with me. But he did grow colder. Then one day he finally left."

"Have you found anyone else since then?"

"I… I have," replied Abigail, mindful of her lingering feelings for Sam. "I met him some time after Will finally left. He and I were planning on moving to Chicago with Sammy Jo. At least before I was brought here…"

Before Sam could reply, he saw Zoey and several guards at their cell.

"You," Sam growled. "If you want to get to Abigail, you'll have to go through me."

"As you wish," Zoey smiled, the hourglass on her neck glowing with power.

Before Sam could even process what was going on, the redheaded woman froze time and without Sam even being able to react, grabbed him and slammed him onto a table, shackling his hands and feet to the structure.

He looked up. Zoey, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Kairos were all there as the guards pulled Abigail out of her cell, in addition to all the other prisoners.

"I would shoot you right now," Oswald grinned. "But I think I'll enjoy watching this."

"What are you doing?" demanded Sam.

"You always wanted to change peoples' lives for the better," Zoey said to him. "But what if that simply wasn't meant to be? After all, things happen for a reason and in the original timeline before you altered it, none of these people ever met good ends."

"They have the right to live happy lives," Sam shot back. "Why would you even want to take that away from them?"

"Mr. Oswald," Zoey turned to the killer of President Kennedy, "would it surprise you to learn that in the original timeline, you killed both John F. Kennedy and his wife?"

"Doesn't surprise me in the least," Oswald nodded. "She was my second target."

"I leaped into one of her guards just in time," Sam glared at Lee Harvey Oswald. "You were going to take two lives that day!"

"A real shame," Oswald shook his head. "And I was hoping to arrange for Jackie to meet her husband again soon after I put a bullet in John Fitzgerald."

"You people are sick," Sam spat.

"And your suffering is just about to begin!" promised Zoey. "Guards, hook the prisoners to the VR tech!"

"What are you doing?" demanded Sam.

"You, Dr. Beckett, are about to find out," Zoey assured him.

oooo

Before long, all of the Saxon soldiers have arrived as Alia held Sabert at swordpoint.

The warriors then cleared a path, parting like the Red Sea and allowing their leader to come forth.

He was a formidable and powerful warrior with graying hair and a missing eye as evidenced by his patch. Wulfsige looked at Alia and then at Al Calavicci, analyzing the situation carefully.

"I see you have one of my men," he said to them.

"Don't come a step closer," warned Alia. "Or I'll gut him!"

"She's not kidding!" added Al.

"The boy you have captive is my nephew," Wulfsige told them. "Aside from his abilities with the bow, he is a worthless warrior and he is useless to me."

Alia looked at Al nervously. Had they hoped for too much?

"Kill him if you will," Wulfsige said to the two. "But know this… I am here for the witch Nevena and her two children. If you stand aside now, your lives will be spared."

"He's lying, isn't he?" Al whispered to Alia.

"I don't know," Alia whispered back. "But I don't want to find out."

"Now tell me, are you willing to stand aside?" Wulfsige offered. "After all, these are turbulent times we live in. I was forced to defend myself against the husband of this woman and killed him in defense of my own life. All I wish to do now is to offer safety and security to a grieving widow and her children during a dark time such as this."

"You're lying!" Alia spat. "You murdered Regulus and now you're here to kill the rest of his family!"

"And I hoped you strangers could be reasoned with," Wulfsige sighed and gestured towards his men. "Take them!"

About a dozen of his men from the army came forward and tried to encircle Ali and Al but a massive fireball stuck the ground, catching some of the men on fire and scattering the rest.

Taking advantage of the sudden confusion, Sabert broke free of Alia's hold and ran off. Wulfsige looked at his nephew in disgust as he hid behind one of the stones.

"Stay away from them!" a woman's voice alerted everyone in the area.

Al Calavicci looked back to see Nevena standing there, arms outstretched. Behind her was a massive portal that had just been summoned.

"Is… is that?" Al's eyes widened.

"Stand behind me," ordered Nevena.

At once, Al and Alia got behind the Celtic sorceress with her two children.

Several more Saxon warriors rushed in but Nevena swung her arms and sent them all flying with an invisible force. She then created another fireball with her hand and flung it towards another incoming division of soldiers, enveloping them in an explosion.

As the battle raged on, Sabert crawled towards one of the soldiers who had been killed by Nevena. The corpse held a crossbow in his hand which Sabert took the opportunity to seize.

"Attack, men!" ordered Wulfsige. "She may be a witch but she is only one while we are many!"

More soldiers charged but one of Nevena's spells caused several vines to erupt from the earth and trap them in place.

"The portal is opened!" Nevena told Al and Alia. "Go now while I hold them off!"

"We can't just leave you here!" protested Al.

"Thou hast no choice!" Nevena cried, blasting an incoming Saxon with a magical blast of energy through her time staff. "The portal will not hold for long!"

"This ain't right!" shouted Al. "Alia and I can't just leave you in danger like this!"

"You've done so much for me!" Alia said with tears in her eyes. "You looked after me, cared for me, taught me how to survive in a time like this! I won't leave you to a fate like this! I just won't!"

As Alia pleaded with Nevena, Al looked over at Sanctus and his sister with water in his eyes.

"Whatever happens, promise me you'll look out for your sister," Al told him.

"I will!" Sanctus promised, hugging Al.

After Al let go of Sanctus, he went up to Alia.

"We have to see this through with you!" pleaded Alia as Nevena sent several more soldiers flying.

"This is not up for debate!" Nevena told them firmly.

With a wave of her time staff, she struck Al and Alia with a burst of invisible power that knocked both of them through the time portal. Just as Alia and Al fell through it, the portal closed up and Nevena turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

About ten soldiers rushed her but Nevena quickly held out her hand and summoned a whirlwind which sent all of them flying back ten yards.

"Mother, look out!" Sanctus shouted.

Before Nevena could react, an arrow flew out from nowhere and struck her thigh, wounding her.

"Aaahh!" shouted Nevena.

It was Sabert who fired the arrow as he stood there triumphantly with crossbow in hand. Taking advantage of the distraction, a burly Saxon warrior came in and slammed his shield into her face to take her down. Soon, several Saxons swarmed in and grabbed the two children of Nevena.

"Mother!" shouted Sabina.

Nevena tried to get up but one of the soldiers kicked away her time staff. Two soldiers held her up as she barely stood on her two feet. Her face was bleeding and her head was dazed from the shield blow. Now the tides had changed and she was the one in a position of weakness.

"I wouldn't try any magical spells," Wulfsige walked up to Nevena with Sabina in his arms.

"Please do not harm mine children!" Nevena pleaded.

"Why not?" Wulfsige grinned. "You killed several of my men already."

"Please, I will do as thou commands if thou would spare them!" Nevena told him.

"Hmm, I suppose we could work something out," Wulfsige held on to Sabina tightly. "You, boy! Do you enjoy playing games?"

"I don't want games!" Sanctus cried. "I want thy word thou will spare mine mother and sister!"

"You'll enjoy playing this one," Sabert came up to his uncle.

"I offer you a choice," Wulfsige told Sanctus. "On this day, either your mother or sister will die. I leave it up to you to choose which one! But choose carefully! Their fate lies in your hands!"

"What?!" Sanctus was aghast.

"Thou cannot play such games with—" Nevena cried but was cut short by one of the Saxons punching her in her solar plexus to make her keel over in pain.

"Choose, boy!" Wulfsige growled. "Only one of your relatives will live! Pick wisely!"

"I… you can't make me…" Sanctus took a step back, water forming in his eyes.

"Either you choose or I'll choose for you!" Wulfsige grinned.

"No!" Sanctus finally yelled, attempting to charge Wulfsige to put an end to the madness despite his meager chances.

At once, Wulfsige drew his sword, slashing Sanctus across the chest. Blood erupted into the air like a fountain as Sanctus fell down to the ground.

"I guess I'll choose," Wulfsige smiled. "Sabert, your bow if you please…"

"Of course uncle," Sabert handed his uncle the crossbow.

"Should've picked when you had the chance!" Wulfsige told the fallen Sanctus.

Sanctus lay there helplessly as blood poured out of his wound. He could only watch in desperation as Wulfsige lifted the bow into the air.

"Normally I'd hate to leave loose ends," Wulfsige then pointed the crossbow towards Nevena as the two Saxon soldiers held her, "but in this case I think I can make one exception. Your daughter will make a fine bride when she comes of age!"

"No!" shouted Nevena.

"Let me go!" Sabina shouted, struggling against Wulfsige helplessly.

It was too late. Wulfsige fired the arrow. Immediately the arrow struck Nevena right through the heart. She fell down to the ground with her eyes widened in horror as the critically wounded Sanctus crawled towards her. Finally, the light in Nevena's eyes left her just as Sanctus grasped her hand.

"Mother… please!" pleaded Sanctus, holding on tight. "Don't… leave me!"

Finally, Sanctus passed out from the blood loss, holding on to his own mother.

"Sanctus!" Sabina cried. "Mother!"

"Move it, girl!" Wulfsige pushed her forward roughly.

Despite her cries, Sabina was loaded onto one of the war wagons and taken off by the men.

"You've done well Sabert," Wulfsige looked at his nephew. "Perhaps I underestimated your worth after all."

"Think nothing of it, uncle," Sabert beamed.

"Come, my nephew!" Wulfsige draped his arms around Sabert. "Tonight I throw a banquet in your honor!"

oooo

"What are you doing?" demanded Sam Beckett.

All around him, the prisoners were hooked onto tables similar to his. However, in their case, the soldiers placed helmets which covered their eyes.

"It's called virtual reality," explained Zoey. "You said you wanted these prisoners returned to their own time. I happen to agree with that."

"You're not really going to bring them back, are you?" Sam glared at her.

"They will return to their own time," Zoey promised. "To be precise, they will be forced to relive the worst moments of their lives!"

"Don't do this," pleaded Sam. "You've already made me suffer… why make them go through the same?!"

"They shalt be made to suffer," Kairos walked up towards Sam with his time staff, "just as I was once forced to suffer."

"What happened to you?" Sam asked with a tired voice. "What happened in your life to make you like this?"

Kairos did not answer immediately. He raised his time staff into the air as its magic activated the virtual reality helmets on each of the prisoners.

"Thou once started thy Project Quantum Leap to make right what once went wrong in time," Kairos scoffed. "And yet despite all thy accomplishments, thou could not even able to save those I once considered family."

"I was never able to travel back in time that far!" Sam said in exasperation. "Leaping only allowed me to travel to different points in time only within the confines of my own lifetime. I only made it to the distant past once during the Civil War and even that was a freak accident!"

"Silence!" Kairos struck Sam across the face. "I have heard enough!"

"No!" Abigail began moaning within her cell. "Don't leave me, daddy!"

"Abigail!" Sam shouted.

"It's already begun!" Zoey smiled. "They're already reliving the pain you once saved them from!"

"Stop this!" shouted Sam.

At once, Oswald drove an electrical prod into Sam's ribs, shocking him and forcing him to cry out in agony.

"We are going to have a lot of fun, you and I!" promised Lee Harvey Oswald.

oooo

_478 AD._

As Sanctus finally came about, he was not certain if he were still alive or in the afterlife. He tried to move but a pain quickly shot through his arms and then into his chest.

He was lying still on a bed in some kind of room with minimal decorations. It appeared to be the inside of some monastery.

"Try not to move!" a calming voice told him.

"Who art thou?" Sanctus managed to say painfully.

"I am Brother Aidan," a monk appeared before him. "I discovered thee at the standing stones, unconscious and barely alive."

"Mine mother!" Sanctus asked as tears flowed down his eyes. "Is she…"

"The woman?" Brother Aidan lowered his head. "Unfortunately she did not make it."

At once, the remaining strength of Sanctus seemed to leave the young boy.

"I am sorry," Brother Aidan told him. "I am sorry I was not able to save thy mother."

Sanctus looked to the side and saw both the time staff and the hourglass seated at a table.

"Please stay with us at the monastery until thou art healed," Brother Aidan said to him softly.

"The hourglass," Sanctus requested. "Give it to me…"

"Art thou certain?" asked Aidan.

"Do it!" insisted Sanctus.

Without delay, Brother Aidan took the hourglass and handed it to Sanctus. The young boy turned the contents of that hourglass upside down and at once, a glow surrounded both the mystical artifact and the boy, completely healing him of all his wounds, including the cut inflicted upon him by Wulfsige.

After seeing the incredible sight he did, Aidan fell back in shock.

"That was magic!" Brother Aidan gasped. "Who art thou? And what is thy name?"

"There was once a boy named Sanctus who was forced to watch as his mother was killed and sister taken off into slavery," Sanctus snarled. "But that boy has died on this day."

oooo

_Present Day._

Al was the first to tumble out of the time portal, shortly followed by Alia.

"Ow," Al rubbed his back. "Wouldn't care to go through that again…"

"Are we finally back in the present?" Alia helped Al up.

Al looked around the premises. Judging from the modern roads he saw in the distance, he realized that they were indeed back in modern times.

"We are," Al confirmed. "And it's a good thing too."

Alia looked up towards the sky.

"Thank you Nevena," she whispered. "I will forever be indebted to you."

With that, she turned back to Al. In the distance, both time travelers saw the foreboding castle which housed Project Chronos.

"Stay strong Sam," Al promised. "I'm coming for you."

"We'll be coming for him," added Alia. "We'll save Sam Beckett no matter what it takes."

"No guarantee we come out of this alive," Al told her. "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Alia nodded.

In spite of their slim chances, Al and Alia took one last look at Stonehenge and went off on their way to the castle.


	15. Trouble on the Horizon

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Trouble on the Horizon_

"Know which way to get in?" asked Al.

He and Alia were at the castle where Project Chronos was set up. There was no way to get in through the front since guards were stationed there. Instead, the two of them snuck in from behind.

"There was a secret entrance back when I came here with Nathaniel," Alia told Al. "Somewhere on this wall is a stone I have to push to trigger the door."

"Guess we'll have to feel around then?" Al placed his hands on the stones that lined the castle.

"Tedious I know," Alia shook her head, "but that secret entranceway is on this side of the building somewhere."

"Yeah I just hope we can find it before any guards come around here," Al continued to push away at the stones.

Suddenly, a section of the wall opened up.

"Did you find it?" asked Alia.

"Wasn't me," Al shook his head.

To their surprise, Dr. William Oliver walked out. As soon as he saw Alia and Al, however, he stopped dead on his tracks.

"You!" Dr. Oliver gasped. "How did you get here? And more importantly, how did Alia finally return?"

"Where's Sam, slimeball?" Al demanded.

"Dead if he's lucky," Dr. Oliver shrugged. "In any case, I must be going. My time at Project Chronos has come to an end and it's time I made myself scarce."

"You're taking us to Sam right now!" Al got in front of him.

"If I go back there I'm a dead man!" Dr. Oliver grabbed Al by the collar. "Now get out of my way!"

"Not until you get us to Sam!" Al grabbed Dr. Oliver by the collar in return.

The two men struggled briefly before Dr. Oliver finally pushed Al away.

"Now, I'll be on my way," Dr. Oliver huffed.

Quickly, Alia spun around with a wheel kick that rocked the side of William Oliver's head, knocking him to the floor. Before Dr. Oliver realized fully what was happening, he saw Alia sitting on top of him with a sword across his throat.

"You're going to take us to Sam," she said to him menacingly. "Do I make myself clear?"

Dr. Oliver swallowed. "Crystal clear."

Alia got off of him and allowed the scientist to get back up.

"Lead the way," Al gestured towards the opening in the castle.

Gritting his teeth, Dr. Oliver walked past the two and back into the castle.

Al was the first to follow but before he could enter, Dr. Oliver stepped back outside with both arms raised over his head.

"I thought Alia told you to—" Al said but stopped mid-sentence after realizing what was going on.

Two armed guards with machine guns pointed at Dr. Oliver stepped outside, soon followed by Zoey.

"I would have gotten away if you two hadn't stalled me!" Dr. Oliver glared at Alia and Al.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Zoey smiled. "I came out hoping to catch Dr. Oliver and I find Albert Calavicci and Alia at my doorsteps!"

"You… you're…" Alia looked at the younger Zoey in confusion.

"That's Zoey," Al told her. "She got herself a makeover after becoming buddies with that time mage Kairos."

"Do you like the way I look?" Zoey asked Alia. "Don't I look perfectly fabulous?"

"You may look younger," Alia told her, "but you're still the same lying, manipulative scoundrel who used me and led me on to becoming your guinea pig for Project Chronos!"

"Could you blame me?" Zoey sneered. "You were absolutely devastated by the death of your beloved Nathaniel Lothoman. It was so easy to convince you to step inside the quantum accelerator in the vain hopes of going back in time to save him."

"Ahem," Dr. Oliver cleared his throat. "Zoey, since I've been gracious enough to have brought you to these two hooligans, I don't suppose I could walk off with my pride intact?"

"Given how you have embezzled money from Project Chronos, it's high time I dealt with you the way I should have the first day you arrived!" Zoey snarled. "Men, kill him!"

At once, the two guards pointed their guns at Dr. William Oliver and opened fire, gunning the scientist down on the spot in a hailstorm of bullets, much to the shock of both Al and Alia.

As Dr. Oliver's body fell to the floor, Zoey turned her attention back to the two new prisoners she had at her mercy.

"Now, as for you two, we are going to have so much fun together," she promised Al Calavicci and Alia.

oooo

Mercilessly, Lee Harvey Oswald struck Sam across the face and then yanked his hair back.

"Hear that?" Oswald growled. "Whatever they're reliving… it ain't pleasant!"

Indeed, all of the people present and hooked up to the virtual reality machines were already moaning and in some cases, screaming.

In defiance, Sam spat directly in Oswald's face. Oswald smiled as he wiped the saliva off his cheek.

"So this is how you want to play it, huh?" Oswald used the electrical baton in his hand to send several more volts through Sam's body.

"Aaaahhh!" screamed Sam.

Finally, Oswald stopped as he saw Zoey enter the room with two new prisoners.

"You've brought company," Oswald stopped what he was doing.

"Al!" Sam managed to murmur. "It's you!"

"Hang in there, Sam!" Al looked at his friend with concern. "I'll find some way to help you!"

"Please, you can't even help yourself," Zoey reminded him.

"Alia, is that you?" Sam asked.

"It is," she said. "We're here for you, Sam."

"Not for long you won't," promised Zoey.

"What will it take for you to just let them go?" demanded Sam.

"None of them will be let go," Zoey told him. "Not until you've lost everything."

"When will it be enough?" demanded Alia. "You've caused so much suffering already with Project Chronos. And for what?" Money? Power?"

"That was the initial objective," confirmed Zoey. "But now with the power of time and space at my command, those things seem so… trivial."

"Want me to litter their bodies with bullets?" offered Oswald.

"No," Zoey replied. "I imagine with the horrors they're being forced to relive, the old priest and that vagrant don't have much longer to live. Once they've expired, we will force Al Calavicci and Alia to relive their worst nightmares."

She then motioned for the guards to take away the two.

"Lock them up for now," she ordered. "I will come for them later."

oooo

_Looking around his surroundings, Father Mac saw himself standing in familiar grounds._

_It was the train track where Sunny had been killed. But how had he suddenly gotten here?_

_In the distance, he heard the rumblings of a train from far away. As soon as he turned to the other side, he saw Sunny walking on the track, skipping on it like he didn't have a care in the world._

"_Sunny!" Father MacRoberts shouted. "You have to get off!"_

_However, Sunny did not appear to hear him._

_Father Mac quickly rushed forward to try to grab the young boy. However, he phased through the boy as if he were a ghost._

"_No!" shouted Father Mac._

_From behind Sunny, Father Mac saw a stranger approaching. It was Tony Pronti, the young man who killed the boy._

"_Get away from here!" pleaded Father Mac._

_As the train got closer, Sunny seemed to notice it and got off the tracks._

_In desperation, Father Mac tried to punch at Tony but was unable to connect. At once, Tony pushed Sunny down onto the tracks as the train sped closer._

_Sunny hit his head and was knocked unconscious on the railroad tracks. Smiling, Tony Pronti ran away as the train closed in._

"_Sunny!" screamed Father Mac. "Sunny!"_

oooo

_Unsure of what was going on, Katie McBain opened her eyes, only to find herself in familiar surroundings again. It was the car which belonged to Kevin Wentworth and she was sitting there in the backseat._

_She was not sure why she was back here, reliving the worst night of her life, but she knew one thing. She needed to get out of there fast._

_Before she could unbuckle her seatbelt, however, Kevin opened the door._

"_Kevin!" Katie almost shouted._

"_Katie," Kevin looked at her in surprise. "This isn't the part where you scream my name, not yet anyways."_

"_Kevin, I… need to leave," Katie reached for the door. "My parents are expecting me home!"_

_Quickly, Kevin grabbed her and held her close to him._

"_Why?" he demanded. "You know you want to stay here with me."_

"_Stop Kevin!" Katie protested as tears began streaming down her face._

_Without another word, Kevin pinned her down and began kissing her._

oooo

"_Where… where am I?" Sister Angela looked down at her hands._

_To her surprise, her nun robes were no longer there. She was back on the streets again. _

"_Excuse me, sir?" she asked a passerby._

_The passerby simply ignored her and walked on._

_Angela walked down an alley and looked around. On the ground was a piece of glass._

_She picked it up and looked deeply into it. She was no longer a woman or a nun. Here she was, a young girl once more, living out on the streets. Not only was she wearing rags, her face was dirty from lack of proper sanitation._

"_Please sir, can you help me?" she asked another man who was walking down the streets._

"_Get away from me!" the man walked away from her hurriedly._

"_Ma'am?" Angela turned around to a woman who was coming up from behind her._

"_Don't touch me, you little urchin!" the woman drew back in scorn._

"_Please, isn't there anyone who can help?" Sister Angela looked about helplessly as a throng of people surged through the streets._

oooo

_Though Jimmy's mind operated on a different capacity than the other prisoners who had been plucked from their time eras, he still noticed something was wrong._

_Instead of a castle, he now stood at the docks again._

"_W-What?" Jimmy looked around._

"_Hey, look over there!" one of the dock workers pointed at him._

_It was Blue, the man who had harassed and mistreated him before. Though it was mainly Sam who had interacted with Blue, Jimmy still had some vague memories of the unpleasant encounters the leaper had with Blue._

"_Well look who it is!" Blue came up to Jimmy with a few other workers. "It's the retard!"_

"_I'm… I'm not retarded!" Jimmy protested, reiterating the words his brother Frank had taught him._

"_Yeah, you're not retarded!" Blue laughed. "And I'm the Easter Bunny!"_

_With that, Blue shoved Jimmy back into another dock worker who shoved Jimmy back._

_Soon, everybody was shoving Jimmy back and forth._

"_Stop!" Jimmy protested. "Stop!"_

"_Retard!" the crowd of dock workers shouted. "Retard!"_

oooo

_Roy Brown desperately looked around his surroundings at the Vietnam War raged on._

"_Private Brown, can we depend on you?" a sergeant next to him asked._

"_I, uh…" Brown stammered nervously._

_At once, an explosion went off near their area._

"_Damn it Brown!" the sergeant shouted. "Now's not the time to blank out!"_

"_You can count on me sir!" Roy finally promised._

_The sergeant motioned to the ditch dug in the ground with a tunnel that led to the enemy's base._

_Taking his rifle, Roy crawled in, slowly making his way towards his destination as the war continued to rage._

"_I can do this," Roy told himself. "I can do this…"_

_Suddenly, he heard a hissing sound somewhere nearby. It took him a while before realizing that it was right in front of him._

_As soon as he came close by, he saw a venomous snake baring its fangs at him._

"_No… no!" shouted Roy. "Not this! Not again!"_

_Roy tried to back away but it was too late. The snake reared back and lunged at him._

oooo

_Abigail Fuller saw that something was amiss the minute she saw the burning house. Running forward, she had a good idea of what was happening. _

_She was a little girl again and this was not just any night. It was the night that her father had died._

_It had been a fire that Leta Aider had helped to start when she broke into the house and it was a horrific memory that Abigail had never forgotten._

_Looking up, Abigail saw a man still inside the house. It was her father. _

_He looked like he was trying to escape but before he could, a piece of the burning building came crashing down on him and killing him._

"_Daddy!" Abigail screamed in terror._

oooo

"Zoey," Kairos appeared before her as the woman lounged around in her office with a glass of wine.

"Kairos," Zoey nodded. "Is there something you want of me?"

"I have decided," Kairos told her. "The time for mine ascension is now. And I will have no more toying about with Sam Beckett."

"You mean you wish for me to kill him?" asked Zoey.

"Yes, but not here," Kairos continued, "and not now."

"Then when?" his confused apprentice asked.

"Back at the very beginning," Kairos told her.

"At the beginning?" Zoey looked at him in shock. "You mean when Sam Beckett was a… baby?"

Kairos tilted his head in a nod.

"But… just think of the disastrous consequences!" Zoey protested. "I could undo all of Project Chronos if Dr. Beckett was never born!"

"Thou art now the wearer of the hourglass," Kairos reminded her. "Thou art protected from the shifting changes in the timestream."

"But this is Sam Beckett as a bump in a woman's belly," Zoey looked torn. "I'm not sure if I could actually go back in time and—"

"Doth thou wish to keep the powers at thy disposal?" asked Kairos. "This is thy final test, Zoey. I once had to do the unthinkable. Art thou ready to do the same in order to fully ascend as a time mage who's left behind all the outdated mortal notions of right and wrong?"

"I… I…" Zoey was uncertain.

"If thou art not up to it, then perhaps there will exists another who is more worthy to be mine apprentice," Kairos turned away. "Perhaps the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald would be better suited—"

"I'll do it!" Zoey promised him, finally deciding that she wanted to keep her power more than the life of an unborn baby. "I will kill Sam Beckett in the womb. And then I will reduce his entire family to ashes!"

Kairos glanced at her face. It was as if she had just undergone a grueling mental battle in her own mind. Killing a helpless baby was no small task, even for a woman who had shown very little regard for human life in the past.

"Excellent," Kairos smiled underneath his hood. "Then go forth. Show me why I made the right choice in selecting thee as mine apprentice."

oooo

"Are the guards gone now?" asked Al.

Alia looked out through the bars of their cell.

"They are now," she finally confirmed.

"Good," Al reached inside his pocket and took out the lock pick that Wellington had given him.

He went up towards the lock at the door and began picking as Alia watched him in nervous anticipation. When he was young and out on the streets, Al had learned to pick locks in order to survive. While it had been quite some time since he had done something like this, he still remembered some of the very basics.

Finally, the lock to the door was opened.

"Got it!" Al exclaimed.

Just before Al could open the door, however, he heard a door from upstairs open up. Quickly, Al stepped away from the door and put the lock back into his own pocket.

"Whoever it is, I'll catch 'em by surprise," Al whispered to Alia.

Before long, Zoey walked down the corridor and stopped where Al Calavicci and Alia both were.

"I have good news for you," she told them. "Sam Beckett's current suffering will soon come to an end."

"And the bad news?" demanded Alia. "There's gotta be a catch to this."

"I am to return back in time to the year Nineteen Fifty Three," Zoey informed the two. "It is there that I shall kill Dr. Samuel Beckett along with his mother while he still lives within her womb."

"What?!" Al almost fell back in shock.

"It is what Kairos asked of me," Zoey said slowly. "Believe me… at first even I had my reservations about it. But Kairos told me that the powers granted to me by this hourglass were at stake. And if I were to choose between Sam Beckett and myself, I'll choose myself every single time!"

The hourglass on Zoey's necklace glowed as she summoned a portal with her right hand.

"By the time I return, you two will have no more memories of Dr. Beckett," she promised them. "Not that I promise you'll be here either by the time I come back."

"And I promise you, Zoey," Al said angrily, clenching the bars. "I won't let you within ten miles of Sam Beckett or his mother!"

With that, Al threw open the door much to Zoey's surprise and tackled the woman, sending them both flying through the time portal. Before Alia could reach the portal, it had closed up, swallowing both Al and Zoey and sending them hurtling back towards the near Sam Beckett was conceived.


	16. Generations

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Generations_

Al tumbled to the ground as he fell through the time portal. A few feet away, Zoey also landed unceremoniously. Unfortunately for him, she got up first.

As Al looked up, he noticed he was on a bridge of sorts going across a river somewhere in Indiana. No doubt this was the year 1953 when Sam Beckett would be born.

Suddenly, Zoey came in with a kick to his ribs that knocked him over. Holding his side in pain, Al crumpled to the floor. Looking down, Al saw a rock next to him which he picked up.

Zoey then grabbed Al by the collar and lifted him up.

"New change of plans," Zoey told him. "First I'll kill you. Then I'll kill Sam Beckett's entire family!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," promised Al.

With that, he smashed the rock across the side of Zoey's head, forcing her to drop him and stumble back.

Zoey grabbed her head, feeling warm blood ooze from the wound Al had inflicted upon her.

"That's going to cost you more than your life!" Zoey promised.

At once, the hourglass she wore glowed as she froze time all around Al, leaving him helpless.

Without mercy, she pummeled Al in the stomach with her fist and then across the face. Grabbing him by the head, she slammed his forehead down on her knee, causing him to see stars once time.

Finally, Zoey allowed time to begin again as Al fell to the floor helplessly. She picked him up by the collar and leaned him against the bridge.

"You are an old man without much life left in you," she told him. "But I will enjoy draining it out of your decrepit body nonetheless!"

Before she could bring harm to the observer, a police car stopped at the end of the bridge. Evidently, her assault on Al had caught his attention.

"Freeze!" the officer yelled, pulling his gun out. "Step away from him now!"

Deciding to play along, Zoey let go of Al and stepped away from him. After all, she was sent back here to kill Sam. However, she did not know exactly where the Beckett residence was, and this cop was her ticket to finding out.

"Hands in the air!" the cop told her.

"Very well," Zoey smiled, putting her hands up.

As the nearly unconscious Al leaned against the wooden bridge, the portion he leaned on gave way, breaking off as Al fell into the river.

"No!" shouted Zoey as Al's body got carried away by the currents of the river.

"Remain where you are!" the police officer told her.

Before the officer could call for back up for someone to help Al, Zoey froze time yet again, this time taking care to remove the gun from the officer's hand and pointing it right back at him as she unfroze time.

"What?!" the officer was aghast. "How did—"

"You're going to take me to the Beckett residence," Zoey ordered.

"You mean John and Thelma Beckett?" the officer asked nervously. "I know them, but I don't know where they live."

"Then take me to your nearest government building," Zoey cocked the gun. "They're bound to have files on the residency of this town's citizens."

"But you can't just—"

"Now!" Zoey fired a warning shot near the officer's feet.

"Okay, okay!" the cop finally relented.

oooo

"Ohhh," Al clasped his head.

As he woke up, he noticed he was in a room where he laid on top a bed.

"Are you awake?" asked a woman's voice.

"Who…" Al began to stir. "Where am I?"

"You're in Elk Ridge, Indiana," a man next to her replied.

Al glanced up at the couple. They appeared to be somewhere in their late twenties or early thirties. From the looks of it, the woman was also pregnant.

"You're lucky I was out fishing," the man told Al. "I saw your unconscious body floating down the river and got you to shore. You almost didn't make it."

"I was attacked," Al confirmed. "I would've died but lucky for me I slipped and fell into the river."

"You suffered some minor wounds," the man confirmed. "Good thing my wife here patched you up."

"Thank you," Al told the woman graciously.

"What's your name anyways?" asked the man.

"I'm Al Calavicci," Al confirmed.

"Well Al, I reckon you can stay with us for at least another day or two until you've fully recovered," the man promised. "After that, maybe we can get you to the police station and you can tell them about your attacker."

"Trust me, the police won't be able to do much about this one," Al replied. "This is no ordinary criminal we're dealing with."

"So who's the man we're dealing with?" asked the man. "An escaped inmate from an asylum?"

"No, it's a woman," Al answered. "She's as deadly as they come."

"A woman, eh?" the man scratched his head. "Well the times they are a' changing…"

"It may do more than that if she has her way," Al muttered.

"Anyways," the man told Al. "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is John Samuel Beckett and this here is my wife Thelma Louise Beckett."

Immediately Al Calavicci stared at the two in amazement.

"You…" Al gasped. "You're Sam's parents!"

oooo

"We're here," the police officer pulled up in front of the government building.

"Good," Zoey continued to point the gun at him.

"So what now?" the officer demanded.

"Out of the car," Zoey ordered.

Reluctantly, the police officer did so.

"Lead me inside," she told him.

Before he could move, however, she clasped his shoulder as the hourglass on her necklace glowed once more, enveloping the both of them and freezing time around everything else.

As the officer looked around, he saw that everything was frozen. People were standing as still as statues on the streets. Birds hovered in the air without so much as a single movement. It was perfect stillness.

"Well?" Zoey demanded. "Take me inside!"

"What did you just do?" the officer was shocked.

"Something that's beyond your under-developed mind," Zoey pointed the gun into his back. "Now do as you're told."

With a sigh, the police officer walked with her through one of the open doors, leading her across an entire room and hallway of people frozen in time until they reached one of the doors.

"There's a library of information in here," the officer told her. "Names… addresses… you name it."

"Thank you for your help," Zoey replied and pulled the trigger on the gun.

At once the bullet burst through the man, piercing him through the heart and killing him instantly.

Imperturbably, Zoey opened up the door and went inside to witness an entire archive of shelves with paper files inside.

"Prehistoric Googling," sighed Zoey. "This may take longer than I anticipated."

oooo

"Who are you really?" demanded John Beckett.

"I told you… I'm Al!" the observer insisted.

"Then how do you know about the name of my son?" demanded Thelma Beckett. "John and I haven't told a soul what we wanted to name him!"

"Because… well, this is going to sound crazy," Al told the two parents. "But I know your son Sam!"

"How can you know him?" demanded John. "Sam hasn't even been born yet!"

"This is where it sounds crazier," Al told them. "But I'm from the future. I'm a friend of Sam's from the distant future."

"He doesn't sound right in the head," Thelma whispered to her husband.

"I know, just let me handle this one," John whispered back.

"I know what you're thinking right now," Al told them. "You think I'm a nutcase… but I'm not! I come from the future and right now your lives, along with Sam's, are all in danger!"

"From what?" demanded the father of Sam Beckett.

"From the same person who attacked me!" Al told them. "This person, Zoey, is here to murder Sam Beckett, along with all of you!"

"I think we need to call the asylum," Thelma told her husband who nodded in agreement.

"Didn't you have another son?" asked Al. "Tom, was it?"

At once, John Beckett grabbed a rifle that leaned against one of the doors and held it firmly in his hands.

"Oh boy," Al gulped, realizing he had picked the wrong words.

"How does he know about Tom?" a panicked Thelma looked at her husband.

"L-Like I said," Al tried to salvage the situation. "I come from the future and when I got to know Sam, he told me about his family."

"Tom's at his aunt's house right now," John confirmed, "not that it'll matter. You're not getting anywhere near either of my sons."

"I'm not here to harm you or your family," Al tried to assure them.

"So why does this Zoey want to murder us?" asked Thelma.

"Because in the future," Al told her. "In the late 90s, your son, Sam Beckett will have become the world's greatest quantum physicist. He'll begin a project called Quantum Leap, enabling him to travel through time. Unfortunately he'll make some enemies along the way and this woman Zoey is one of them."

"Do you realize how crazy you sound?" Sam's father demanded.

"Believe it or not, I do," acknowledged Al.

"Listen, you sound like you believe in what you're talking about," Sam's father walked towards the phone while still training his gun on Al. "And I really don't want to have to shoot you either. But what you're saying is insane. I can't have you compromising the safety of my family."

"Don't you see?" Al sighed. "It's already been compromised"

After Al said that, the doorbell rang.

"Thelma, go see who that is," John Beckett told his wife.

"You don't want to do that," Al said to him warningly.

"You're going to stay put," John warned Al.

"Honey," Thelma looked through the peeping glass. "It's a young red haired woman here to see us!"

"No!" shouted Al.

Taking advantage of John Beckett's momentary distraction, Al Calavicci, in a moment of quickness, grabbed John's rifle, grappling against him.

"Don't open that door!" Al screamed towards Thelma.

Thankfully, something in Al's voice convinced Thelma Louise Beckett to step away from the door where Zoey was only a few inches away from on the other side.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Beckett," Al said apologetically.

With that, he managed to yank the rifle upwards, striking Sam's father upside the chin, knocking him back and forcing him to release his weapon.

"Outta the way, Mrs. Beckett!" shouted Al.

Immediately Thelma moved aside as the door finally got kicked down by Zoey.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Zoey said wryly, facing Al.

"I'm the last thing you'll see!" promised Al, pulling down on the trigger.

Repeatedly, Al fired into Zoey, blasting her with a hail of bullets that would have snuffed any ordinary person on the spot.

Zoey looked down at her bloodied and torn suit.

"It's too late to stop me," Zoey promised Al. "Don't you see?"

"Who are you?" Mr. Beckett stumbled into the room.

"Considering I'm here to kill you and your entire family," Zoey promised, "you will know me as Death itself!"

John Beckett's eyes widened, realizing Al was telling the truth after all.

With the aid of her hourglass, Zoey froze time and appeared right behind Al Calavicci. Taking out her handgun, she slammed the grip handle of her gun down on Al's head, knocking him to the floor.

Seeing stars, Al could make out Zoey making her way towards the Beckett family menacingly.

"You stay away from my family!" warned John Beckett.

"You think you can stop me?" Zoey put her gun back in her holster. "Come and give it your best shot!"

Immediately, John Beckett punched hard as hard as she could. Zoey's head snapped back but then turned right back. With a single blow, she backhanded John Beckett hard enough to knock him half-way across the room.

Taking advantage of her distraction, Al grabbed a poker from the fireplace. Just as Zoey turned around, Al stabbed the poker right through her stomach, piercing through her body and pinning her to the wall.

"Aaaaahhhh!" screamed Zoey in an inhuman shriek.

"Let's get you out of here!" Al helped John Beckett up as he and the Becketts ran out through the back door.

"Through the grain!" Thelma pointed out. "We can escape through there more easily!"

As the three of them ran off, Zoey grabbed the poker stabbing through her body and finally yanked it off, grunting in agony as she did.

In fury, she sprinted outside, looking around everywhere for Al and the Becketts.

Finally, she saw a small clearing in some of the fields of grain. No doubt it had been where Al and Sam's parents had escaped through.

"Nothing will save you now!" Zoey promised.

She held both hands together, allowing the time magic in her hourglass to conjure enough energy to unleash a powerful quantum wave that blasted through the grain, killing them off and withering them on contact.

As Al continued to run with John and Thelma Beckett, he looked behind his shoulder to see a massive red quantum wave destroying the grain behind them slowly.

"My truck's up ahead!" John Beckett pointed out.

At once, all three of them got in the back of the truck as the quantum time wave destroyed all the grain in its path.

"I know an abandoned factory we can go to," John Beckett told Al. "We'll be safe from her there!"

As the truck drove off, Zoey made her way through all the dead grain and clasped her hourglass, feeding off its immense power.

"Run all you want," Zoey promised them. "But you won't hide for long."

oooo

Al surveyed the landscape before them. The factory they had enclosed themselves in was big, spacious, and possessed a cool temperature.

The ground was littered with various clutter, ranging from children's toys to baseball bats to dolls made for young girls.

"This was an old toy factory from my heyday," Mr. Beckett said to Al. "It should give us some cover for a while."

"There's plenty of space to hide in here too," agreed Al Calavicci.

"Listen, uh, Al," John Beckett told the observer. "You were right about what was going on and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you earlier."

"Don't worry about it," Al assured him. "I knew full well when I met you that I would come off as a crazy guy when I came to warn you about Zoey."

"Is it all true then?" asked John Beckett. "Will my son really discover time travel?"

"He will," affirmed Al.

"And all these people coming after him," asked Thelma. "Will he really make these kinds of enemies?"

"Unfortunately he will," Al shook his head sadly.

"Jesus Christ," John Beckett swore, leaning against a wall. "We're just ordinary farming people! And now we're caught up in all this?"

"I'm going to do everything in my power to help get you out of it," Al tried to assure him.

"That woman said she was coming for Sam," Thelma looked down at her stomach. "We need to do everything we can to save my baby!"

"Oh no," John's head perked up. "I almost forgot about Tom! What if that woman's after him?"

Al quickly peeked outside. So far, there was nothing.

"I could go find him," Al offered.

"No, only Thelma and I know where his aunt's house is," John Beckett replied.

"I could go and—" Thelma got up before a sudden pain washed over her belly.

"Thelma!" John cried, rushing over to his wife.

"It's… it's okay," Thelma told him. "It was just Sam, kicking inside."

"You alright?" asked John.

"I'm fine now," Thelma responded painfully. "Go and find Tom. I'll be alright."

"No sign of Zoey anywhere," Al opened up the door and surveyed the area. "We're clear."

"Please, watch over Thelma for me," requested John.

"I'll protect her with my life," promised Al Calavicci.

oooo

_Present Day._

"Dost thou feel it, Sam Beckett?" Kairos walked up towards the quantum physicist.

Lee Harvey Oswald saw Kairos and stepped away from what he was doing.

By now Sam was close to being emotionally and physically broken down as Oswald turned off the electrical baton he had been using on him.

"Come here to finish me?" Sam demanded.

"No, but soon it will all end," promised Kairos.

"How?" demanded Sam. "Is this killer going to put an end to me?"

"No, thou shall meet thy end… in thy mother's womb," Kairos assured him. "Zoey will most assuredly make certain of that."

oooo

"What is Sam like in the future?" asked Thelma, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room as Al paced back and forth.

Al Calavicci stopped what he was doing and turned to Thelma Louise Beckett.

"Where do I even begin?" Al said aloud. "I mean, with the situation we're in, I don't even know if what I say to you could affect the future."

"Please… I want to know," pleaded Thelma. "Will my son grow up to be the kind of man both John and I will be proud of?"

"Well Mrs. Beckett," Al finally conceded. "I can start by telling you that your son, Sam, will grow up to be a man who instills hope in others. He'll give hope to people who have none and he'll help to save a lot of lives, your son."

Despite the grim situation they were in, Thelma Beckett began to look at Al with hope in her eyes.

"Sam Beckett will grow up to make right what once went wrong and change history," Al promised her. "And I'm proud to call him my friend and my brother."

"Thank you," Thelma finally replied. "Thank you for telling me."

"Believe me, Mrs. Beckett," Al told her firmly. "I would give my life to protect the life of your baby."

Without warning, a loud thump was heard inside the abandoned toy factory.

"Well," Al remarked. "I guess now is as good of a time as any…"

From a faraway door, someone had entered into the factory.

Al looked around and saw a broom factory. He quickly ushered Thelma to come over.

"I'll go see who it is," Al told her. "You stay here."

After Thelma hid inside the closet, Al stepped behind some of the machinery to peek out and see who it was.

"You can't hide for long," a young woman's voice rang out. "I have a mission and I'm going to complete it."

Al's eyes opened up in shock.

"There is no place you can hide from me," promised Zoey.

On the ground, Al noticed a pipe. Quietly, he picked it up.

Zoey turned around and as soon as she did, a metal pipe struck her across the jaw, knocking her flat on her back.

Al brought up the pipe and prepared to bring it down again but Zoey's hourglass glowed once more as she raised her hand and unleashed a powerful blast of time magic that struck Al squarely in the chest, transforming him from an older man back to a younger boy. Back and forth Al's both changed until finally, he was knocked flat on his back from the sheer power.

As he tried to get up, he suddenly felt a massive force come down upon him, slamming him into the ground like a runaway train. The air around him suddenly became heavier as his body was pushed down into the ground.

"I've managed to learn a few new tricks outside of Kairos' teachings," Zoey told him. "For example, did you know that gravitational fields affect the flow of time? With the time magic at my disposal, I can easily control gravity!"

Finally, she let go of the heavy gravity she was using to crush Al, allowing him some breathing space.

Zoey raised her hand, decreasing gravity around Al and allowing him to float into the air. Viciously, she hurled him back and forth with invisible gravitational forces, slamming him first against the wall, and then against several boxes of toys.

"Ugh!" Al cried in pain as Zoey threw him around relentlessly in the air with mere gestures.

Al tried to get up by he found himself being lifted up into the air once more. This time, Zoey reversed the gravitational pull on Al and let him drop face-first to the floor.

The observer wiped away the blood from his lips and managed to crawl back to both knees, falling back and leaning against some of the machinery used to build toys.

"I believe I've had enough fun with you for now," Zoey took out a pistol from her coat.

"I'm sorry, Sam…" Al murmured weakly. "I couldn't stop her."

"Say goodbye," Zoey pointed the gun at Al.

"Stop!" a voice rang out.

Zoey turned around and saw Mrs. Beckett standing there, despite her pregnancy weighing her down. Al looked down. To his right was a baseball bat that he been left there among all the other toys.

"Leave him alone!" Mrs. Beckett pleaded.

"Don't worry," Zoey turned her head towards Thelma. "After I'm finished with Al, I'll make time for you and your baby."

Al saw his one small window of opportunity. He grabbed the hourglass on Zoey's necklace, unleashing a surge of power through both their bodies.

"No!" screamed Zoey.

With his other hand, Al grabbed the baseball bat and swung it, slamming the wooden instrument into the side of Zoey's head, knocking her away from him and breaking the chain that held the hourglass.

Zoey felt fresh blood ooze down her face. Dazed, she got up and held her hand out, intending to crush Al on the spot with yet another heavy dose of gravity.

Nothing happened.

"What?!" Zoey thrust her hand forward again.

"Looking for this?" Al held up the hourglass.

"Damn you!" shouted Zoey. "Damn you both!"

"It's over, Zoey," Al told her.

Zoey looked to the side at a mirror which hung on the wall. Slowly, her youth faded from her until she was once again the older, middle-aged woman she had once been.

"Give it up," Al pointed the baseball bat at her.

"You think you've won?" Zoey revealed the handgun still in her fingers.

"Oh no,"Al realized.

Quickly, he got in front of Thelma Louise Beckett.

"You're not getting to her," warned Al.

"Well I'll just have to go through you, won't I?" Zoey pointed the gun at Al, slowly squeezing down on the trigger.

Thelma closed her eyes as a shot rang out. Opening her eyes yet again, she realized Al was still standing in front of her, apparently without fatal injury.

Zoey looked down at her chest as blood began to stain her shirt. Turning around, she saw John Beckett standing there behind her with his rifle.

"Stay the hell away from my family," John Beckett warned.

Cursing quietly, Zoey finally fell down to the floor as her heart finally slowed down by several beats before stopping altogether.

When Zoey moved no more, Al breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat away from his forehead as Thelma ran over and hugged John.

While Al realized that he should have been grateful the Becketts had been saved, new stressful thoughts emerged in his mind. How would the Becketts raise Sam with the knowledge that he would discover time travel in the future? What would they do with Zoey's body?

Al looked down at the hourglass in his hand. It glowed gently, slowly transforming back to its original size.

"Whoa," Al was surprised.

Emitting a soft glow, the hourglass enveloped the deceased Zoey with its time magic, slowly dissolving her and turning her body into dust.

"Well, that's one way of taking care of things," Al noted, wondering if the hourglass had actually read his thoughts and responded to his will.

oooo

"I can't even begin to thank you enough," John Beckett thanked Al as they stood on the front porch of their house.

"No need," Al replied. "Sam was, is, and will be a very dear friend of mine."

"So what now?" asked Thelma. "Where do you go from here?"

"I wish I could say now is the time I return to the future," Al looked down at the hourglass in his hand. "But I don't think I've fully gotten used to this thing."

"This house is going to need some cleaning up," John Beckett stepped inside to take a look around at the living room that had been damaged by Zoey's attack.

"Thank you for saving me and my son," Thelma planted a small kiss on Al's cheek.

"Hey, what're friends for?" Al smiled.

As Thelma went inside to join her husband, Al glanced at the hourglass in his hand once more, gripping it tightly.

"If only there were some way to undo all the damage and make them forget," Al said to himself, realizing that even if Zoey hadn't killed them, there was still potential damage to be done to the timestream now that both John and Thelma knew about their son's future.

Responding quickly, the mystical hourglass enveloped Al with a soft glow. Soon, the glow also surrounded the entire house in a blinding flash of light.

After the light had vanished, Al cleared his eyes.

In front of him was the Beckett residence. From what he could see, the house appeared to be in perfectly fine condition. Tilting his head, Al also noticed that the crops Zoey had destroyed earlier had been completely restored to life.

Just as Al realized what had happened, the door opened up behind him.

"Hi, who's this?" John Beckett asked.

Al stared down at the hourglass, understanding what had just happened. The Becketts had no knowledge of what had previously transpired.

"Hi, uh, my name is Al," the observer said to Sam's father nervously.

"Is there anything we can help you with, Al?" asked Thelma.

"Well, uh, my car broke down a while back," Al told them, coming up with a quick story on the spot. "And… I was going door to door to try to get directions to Elk Ridge."

"Well you're in luck," John Beckett said to him. "You're already at the edge of town. Just keep walking down Deerfield Lane for the next three miles and then turn right at the bridge. It should bring you to the downtown area immediately."

"Alright, thanks for your help," Al shook John's hand.

After the Becketts went back inside, Al walked off the porch and back to the main road.

Looking at the hourglass in his hand once more, he knew what he needed to do and he understood that he now had a major advantage, one which would finally tip the scales and enable him to save his friend.

Assertively, he walked down the lane, holding out the hourglass and opening up a portal on the spot.

"Help is on the way, Sam," promised Al and stepped into the portal.


	17. One Leap Forward

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_One Leap Forward_

Before Al knew it, he was back at the castle where Project Chronos was located. He wasn't sure of his exactly location within the fortress but from the looks of all the trees and bushes, he was somewhere in a garden.

"You there," a voice from behind him called out.

Two armed security guards came up to him with their weapons trained.

"Oh geez, from the frying pan into the fire," Al grumbled.

"Turn around," the guard ordered.

Al did as he was told.

"What's that in your hand?" asked the second guard.

"Oh this?" Al looked down at the mystical hourglass in his hand.

"That looks familiar," the first guard glanced at the hourglass. "Wasn't that Zoey's?"

"Well it was," Al replied.

"What happened to her," the second guard aimed his gun directly at Al's head.

"Whoa," Al raised his arms in the air. "Stay still, both of you!"

At once, the hourglass appeared to respond to Al's will, glowing brightly as Al Calavicci closed both his eyes to shield his vision from the glare.

By the time Al opened his eyes, he saw that both men were frozen still.

Around him, time itself also seemed to have stopped. There was a butterfly also frozen in mid-air from what Al saw.

He looked down at the hourglass in his hand, the very instrument which was capable of bending the fabric of reality and time to its will. At that point, he realized he had been given a gift which could turn the tide and help him save his friend.

"Hang on Sam and Alia," Al whispered to himself. "I'm coming for both of you."

oooo

Alia sat on against the wall inside her jail cell, unable to do anything at all as she heard the tortured screams of Sam Beckett.

She made a promise to herself to help and save Sam, the same way he had helped her in the past, but right now, she wasn't even in a good position to do that. She was just as helpless and as captive as he was. Right now, Al was their only hope.

"Poor guy," an armed prison warden walked up towards her. "I don't think he's going to last much longer."

Alia looked down at the keys which hung from his belt.

Unfortunately for her, the warden also realized what she was thinking.

"Don't even think about it," the warden told her, slowly backing away. "Sam Beckett's not going to magically save you this time like you're on some leaping mission."

"Then why are you here?" she demanded. "Here to read me my last rites?"

"As a matter of fact, I will be doing that," the warden told her. "You see, Zoey may have cared about making your life a living hell but Kairos has changed his mind about keeping you as a prisoner. He doesn't find any worth in keeping you around at all so he ordered me to put you out of your misery."

Alia gulped but still tried to maintain her composure.

"Then what are you waiting for?" she demanded. "Why don't you just get it over with?"

"Happy to be of service," the warden grinned, reaching for his gun.

Suddenly, he realized he didn't have it anymore. It was as if the weapon had disappeared into thin air.

"What the hell?" the warden gasped.

Out of nowhere, a cold clock to the back of his head knocked him unconscious.

After the warden fell, Alia saw Al standing behind the fallen man's body.

"Al!" she cried.

"I'm alive and well," Al confirmed.

"What happened to Zoey?" Alia asked.

"She made an attempt on an unborn Sam Beckett's life and it didn't end well for her," Al informed her.

"I see," Alia said with a tinge of regret as Al got the keys from the warden. "I hate that it came down to this. At one point in the past I saw her as both a friend and a mentor. But she chose to live a life of manipulation and power…"

"Well," Al opened up the door for her, "Zoey may have been too far gone to have been saved, but we still have someone else who very much needs our help right now… Sam."

"I agree, let's go get him," Alia stepped out.

oooo

"I imagine you're wondering right now," Lee Harvey Oswald smiled. "When will all of this end?"

Sam only looked at the assassin with a glazed stare.

"Well, just so you know," promised Oswald, "none of this will end unless the man upstairs wants it to."

With that, he drove the electrical baton into Sam's stomach, sending several more jolts into his body.

"Don't worry," Oswald informed Sam. "I'll take my time and make it slow. Don't you worry your little Einstein head."

"Let him go!" a woman's voice came out of nowhere.

"What?" Oswald turned around.

At the door were Al Calavicci and Alia.

"Oh, it's you two," Lee Harvey Oswald sneered. "Here to save Sam?"

"Back away from Sam," Alia warned, training her gun on Oswald.

"You gonna shoot me?" Oswald said mockingly to her. "Think you got what it takes to save your boyfriend here?"

"I don't want to," Alia told him. "But I have killed before in self-defense and I'll do it again if I have to."

"You really mean it don't you?" Oswald slowly backed away, dropping his baton finally.

As Oswald backed away, Alia continued to train her weapon on the communist assassin as Al ran to Sam, taking out the keys he had yanked from the warden.

"Hang on Sam," promised Al. "I'll finally have you out."

After unlocking all the bonds holding Sam to the table, Al helped Sam off the rack and helped him to lean down.

"You good now, Sam?" asked Al.

"Want it to end…" Sam said with a glazed expression on his face. "I just want it all to end…"

"What are you talking about, Sam?" demanded Al. "That's crazy talk!"

"Is it?" Sam sighed in resignation. "My wife is dead… my life's work is slowly being dismantled before my eyes… and now my body feels like it's going to break apart if I take even two steps forward."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry all these things happened, Sam!" insisted Al. "But now's not the time for self-doubt! We've got to get you out of here!"

"Just go and save yourself," Sam's head drooped. "I'm tired… just so tired."

"Damn it, Sam!" Al grabbed Sam by the collar with both hands and lifted him up. "We've been through hard times and through thick and thin, you always persevered to do the right thing! All these years you've sacrificed your own happiness for the lives of others and that takes heart and courage! You're a hero, Sam. And I haven't given up on you, even if you've given up on yourself!"

Finally, Sam looked up, staring into Al's eyes with more emotion this time. Al realized that his words were finally getting through to his friend.

As Alia looked over at Sam and Al briefly, Oswald saw his opportunity. Grabbing Alia by her gun hand, he lifted her hand into the air and struck her in the jaw with elbow, knocking her down as he twisted the gun out of her hand.

"Sorry this happy little reunion's going to come to an end soon," Oswald walked up towards Sam and Al with his gun.

He came up from behind Al and yanked him back. With a swift kick to the stomach, he knocked Sam down to the floor.

"Don't bother trying to reach Sam," Oswald warned Al. "After what I've done to him, his will to live is gone!"

"Don't count on it," Al growled.

"As I recall, you once held me prisoner in that waiting room and held a gun to my face," Oswald reminded the observer. "You also nearly destroyed my eardrums when you fired that gun right next to my ear… I never got the chance to pay you back for that!"

With that, Oswald boxed Al in the ear sharply with his knuckles, sending Al stumbling back.

"How do you like it now?" demanded Oswald.

Once more, Oswald continued his assault. He punched Al in the stomach, taking the breath out of the older man and then slammed his knee into Al's face, knocking him down on his back.

"Stay away from him," Sam said, managing to somehow lean against the wall despite his whole body being racked with pain.

"You're going to stop me?" Oswald turned around, smiling as he saw Sam struggle to stand.

Turning back to Al, Oswald began kicking the observer repeatedly.

"I said stay away!" Sam felt a sudden burst of energy and life return to his body.

At once he charged. Oswald turned around in time to see Sam slam right into him, causing him to drop the gun in his hand. Sam continued his charge until he slammed Oswald into a wall.

"Agh!" cried Oswald.

Sam pressed his elbow against Oswald's throat and began punching the man over and over again, drawing blood and breaking the man's nose.

"You broke my fucking nose!" screamed Oswald.

Immediately Sam silenced him with a knee to the gut. He grabbed Oswald by the back of the neck and hurled him to the floor. Oswald managed to get back to his feet but as he did, Al clocked Oswald across the head with the gun, knocking him out cold.

At around this time, Alia also got up, having recovered from the blow to the face Oswald had delivered to her.

"Are you alright?" Alia asked.

"I am now, thanks to you and Al," Sam replied graciously.

"Good to have you back, Sam," Al walked up towards his friend.

"Good to be back," Sam hugged Al. "Thanks for telling me you still believed in me."

"Shall we go?" asked Alia.

"Not yet," Sam told her. "First, we need to get the other prisoners out of here."

He gestured towards the different cells, each one housing a different prisoner whom Kairos had plucked from different periods in time. After tying the unconscious Oswald to the straps on the table, the three quickly concentrated their efforts to freeing the prisoners.

"I got the keys," Al quickly got to work, opening up the cells.

Alia went to Sister Angela's cell while Al went to Father MacRoberts and Sam went to help Abigail.

"You alright Father Mac?" asked Al.

"Who…" Father Mac's tired eyes looked upon Al with questioning.

"Don't worry, I'm with Sam," Al promised. "We're getting you and all the others out of this joint."

After rescuing those prisoners, Sam went over to Jimmy's cell, releasing him from the virtual reality headset he was plugged to. Unfortunately, however, Jimmy was released in almost a catatonic state, mumbling nonsensically the whole time.

"I'm sorry Jimmy," Sam hugged the mentally handicapped man. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Hey Sam!" Al called out.

"What is it?" Sam let go of Jimmy and went over to the observer.

Sam entered into the cell where Al was while Alia, along with the recently freed Katie McBain, Abigail, Jimmy, Father Mac, and Sister Angela stood outside.

"It's Roy Brown," Al told Sam, cradling the unmoving body of the man Sam had met in Washington State. "He didn't make it."

"What?" Sam was aghast. "Why not?"

"After the Vietnam War Roy wasn't exactly in the best of conditions, remember?" Al said softly. "He already had a bad case of epilepsy and with the kind of torture inflicted upon him here, his body and mind just couldn't take it."

"Roy," Sam knelt down. "Remember me, buddy?"

Roy did not reply.

"C'mon!" Sam insisted. "You remember me! We were out in the wilderness together!"

Tears began to well up in Sam's eyes as he saw that Roy still did not respond.

"It's not over for you, Roy!" insisted Sam, clasping the man's hand. "Stay with me! We can still go searching for Bigfoot together one day!"

"I'm sorry Sam," Al stood up, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "He's gone…"

"Damn it all," Sam clenched his fist.

"We'll give him a proper burial," Al promised. "But right now we need to get out of here while we still can!"

"I'll help carry him," Father Mac offered, taking the body of Roy into his arms.

"Alright," Sam got up as Al tried to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Once we get everyone here to safety, Al, we come back to put a stop to Kairos and this whole Godforsaken Project Chronos for good!"

"We will Sam," Al nodded.

"I remember a quick way out," Alia told them.

Soon, the whole group followed Alia as she led down a darkened hall, going through one of the hidden passages in the castle. Fortunately for them, there were torches hanging on the walls to light their path.

"Are we almost there?" asked Abigail.

"Almost," promised Alia as she saw an unmistakable light ahead of them, leading towards a door.

Alia and Father MacRoberts were the first to reach the door.

"I see two guards outside," Alia took a quick peek through the window of the door.

"I believe I can be of some use," Father Mac told her. "I don't run a boxing gym at my cathedral for nothing."

"I'll take the one on the left and you take the one on the right," Alia told him.

Father MacRoberts nodded his head in silent agreement as Alia grabbed the handle. Forcefully, she flung it openly, knocking the door into the guard to the left.

"What the—" the other guard grabbed his weapon.

Before the guard could open fire on Alia, however, Father Mac came in, grabbing the guard's wrist with one hand and punching him out with the other.

The other guard who had been knocked down by the door tried to get up but Alia quickly kicked him across the jaw, knocking him unconscious.

"The coast is clear," Alia told them.

As Alia ushered the freed prisoners out, Sam began to follow but then noticed a room to his right. After taking a peek through the bars, he realized it was a morgue room with coffins lined up all over the place.

"Hey Sam," Al asked. "What's the hold up?"

"Hang on for a moment, Al," Sam took the door and opened it up.

Alia noticed Sam entering the room just as Katie McBain and Jimmy exited the door.

"Could you accompany them for now, Father?" Alia asked Father Mac. "I'll be right with you."

Father MacRoberts tilted his head in acknowledgement and left with the others.

"Sam?" Alia asked as she entered the morgue room. "What is it?"

Sam looked down into center coffin in the room. Inside was the body of Donna, his wife. Her body, even now was still in near-pristine condition, with an expression of sadness etched across her face.

"It's her," Sam said softly.

"His wife," Al whispered to Alia.

"Oh Sam, I'm sorry," Alia told the leaper.

"Don't be," Sam replied with a silent rage in his voice. "It was Kairos who killed her."

"C'mon Sam," Al beckoned. "Let's go. We'll see to it that Donna gets a proper burial as well."

"Yeah," Sam whispered emptily as he picked up Donna's body.

As the three left the room, they felt a sudden chilling presence upon them.

"Dost thou truly believe escape is an option?" a familiar voice remarked.

"You," Sam growled.

The three of them froze. Kairos stood before them and the exit door.

Alia took out her sword immediately.

"I see Zoey was not able to complete her task of killing thee in thy mother's womb," Kairos hissed towards Sam.

"No," Al shot back. "In fact, she won't be harming anyone anymore!"

"Pity," Kairos caressed his time staff. "Zoey was a most promising apprentice."

"Yeah, well looks like you'll be needing a new hobby from now on," Al glared at the sorcerer in disgust.

"Thou shalt not leave here alive," promised Kairos, raising his time staff.

"Not this time," Al took out the hourglass from behind his back.

"What?!" Kairos stammered. "How?"

"I got this from Zoey," Al replied.

"Hah!" Kairos laughed. "Thou may possess the hourglass but thou would have to be a master of time in order to wield it properly."

At once Kairos raised a gnarled hand.

"Return to thy master," he commanded.

The hourglass in Al's hands shook violently at the verbal command of Kairos, pulling Al forward as it began floating back towards the time mage.

"I can't stop this thing!" Al cried.

"Get him!" cried Sam, running towards Kairos.

Alia, in the meantime, got her sword out and charged as well.

As Kairos concentrated with one hand, psychically summoning he hourglass back to him, he gestured with his other hand and telekinetically summoned a knife from his sleeves. The knife flipped around in mid-air as the sorcerer aimed it towards Sam and launched it with a mere flick of his wrist.

"Sam!" Alia cried.

Sam saw the knife flying towards him but before he could react, Alia got in front of him, hugging him as the knife struck her back, piercing her heart and drawing blood.

"Alia!" Sam cried.

"You… saved me from Project Chronos," Alia looked into Sam's eyes, coughing blood. "I couldn't do otherwise for you…"

"You son of a bitch!" Sam grabbed the handgun on the floor which Al had dropped.

The leaper pulled down on the trigger, firing several rounds into Kairos. The time mage was forced back but each and every time his own magical powers simply healed his body rapidly, removing the bullets from his flesh.

Sam, however, would not be deterred as he continued to fire. Angrily, Kairos raised his hand, summoning a fireball. As he did, however, a stray bullet struck the mechanical part of his time staff, the portion that had been fused with the supercomputer Lothos.

"What?!" Lothos held the front of the staff directly in front of his face as electricity began to sputter from where the bullet struck.

Unfortunately for Kairos, he did not possess the common sense or modern day street smarts to realize that holding a damaged unstable piece of machinery which could explode at any second so near to his face was a bad idea.

Immediately, the top part of the time staff exploded in the face of Kairos, consuming his upper body in a flaming explosion which knocked the time mage back several yards as both his robes and flesh caught on fire.

This time, the charred body of Kairos did not move.

"Stay with me, Alia!" Sam cried, holding Alia's now-lifeless body in his arms.

"Sam, we have to go now!" Al went up to his friend with hourglass in hand. "We have to get Father Mac and the others to safety and back to their own time!"

Sam fought back the feeling to stay in his place and sink into despair yet again. He picked Alia's body and slowly walked out the door. There was no feeling of triumph this time like he had when he usually completed a leaping mission. There was only a sense of sorrow that yet another person he helped had died. And even more pronounced was the feeling of emptiness inside like his life's work had been for nothing.

_To be continued. _


	18. Partings

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_Partings_

Lured by the sound of an explosion, the now-conscious Lee Harvey Oswald walked down a flight of stairs through a secret passageway until he reached the source of the disturbance.

Smelling smoke, Oswald walked towards a charred and unmoving figure on the ground surrounded by burnt pieces of shrapnel and wood. It didn't take long to deduce who it was.

A few feet away, the assassin noticed the remainder of the time staff on the ground, badly damaged but still somewhat intact. Quickly, he walked over to pick it up.

"Once I get this fixed up, nothing's gonna stop me," he said to himself.

Oswald was still unsure what the object in his hand could truly do but based on what he had seen from Kairos, it had the ability to manipulate time on a very basic level. Perhaps he'd get one of the technicians in the castle to fix it up again. Then he could return to his own time and ensure that the communist revolution he had fought so hard for could finally come to fruition.

He walked past the body of Kairos and paused. His curiosity began to nag at him again.

"Alright, let's see what your mug looks like under that hood," Oswald walked back and knelt down before the time mage's body.

Oswald lifted Kairos up by the back and removed his hood.

At once he jerked back in shock with a yelp of fear at having seen the features of the malevolent sorcerer. It was also at that moment that the time mage's eyes opened up once more.

"You're alive?!" Oswald nearly fell back in horror.

Before Oswald realized what was happening, Kairos put his hood back on and slammed the assassin to the floor with a knife pressed against his throat.

"No please!" pleaded Oswald.

"Thy arrogance will be thy undoing!" Kairos threatened. "Hast thou really believed thou could take what was mine?"

"Please forgive me!" Oswald begged. "I had no idea! I thought you had perished!"

"Give me one reason not to cut thy throat," Kairos growled.

"Because I'm an assassin," Oswald spoke quickly. "Taking the lives of others is what I do best. And I'm guessing you'll still need someone to do a job on Sam Beckett? Well, you'll find no better killer than me!"

"Thy point has been made well," Kairos got up, removing the knife from Oswald's throat.

"You won't regret this," Oswald promised.

"Do not make me regret sparing thy life," Kairos turned around. "Or else it would be most unfortunate for thee."

"So what do we do now?" asked the sniper.

"Sam Beckett shall return at some point," Kairos replied. "Thou shalt put an end to him then. As for myself, it is time for me to remake the world in mine own image!"

oooo

Somewhere deep in the woods surrounding the English countryside, Sam Beckett and Al stood before the graves they had dug.

They had dug three graves in the forest. One was for Roy Brown. The other was for Sam's wife, Donna. And the last one was for the recently deceased Alia who had sacrificed herself to save both Sam and Al.

Father Mac, Sister Angela, Katie, Abigail, and Jimmy stood there as well.

"I'm sorry Sam," Al stood next to his friend. "Being at a funeral for your loved ones is never easy."

"I remember back when I had leaped into that Jewish Rabbi," Sam told his friend. "Back then I knew what to say and what to do to help that Rabbi's brother out of his grief and help him move on. Now I don't even know what to say to myself…"

"You don't have to say anything Sam," Al reassured him. "You know what to do. Just like you knew what to do in all your leaps to make things right again. Donna… Alia… Roy… they all knew that you cared for them. They'd all want you to be happy again."

Father Mac walked up to them, revealing a small vial of holy water he had with him.

"I know we're not in a more formal church setting," the priest told Sam, "but may I be allowed to bless their graves?"

Sam nodded.

"Thank you Father," he said and turned away, allowing Father Mac to begin his chant and sprinkle holy water over the graves.

"When I encountered Zoey in the past, I was able to take the hourglass from her," Al showed Sam the magical object in his hand. "After this funeral we can send everyone back to their proper time."

"Will the future be changed in any way when we send them back?" asked Sam. "I know Ziggy didn't originally make calculations for some crazy warlock to pluck them from time and traumatize them all over again."

"I'm not sure, I'll have to check with Ziggy," Al reached inside his pockets.

Before Al could give any definitive answer, Sam turned around just in time to see Jimmy collapse on the spot.

"Jimmy!" he yelled.

Katie and Sister Angela knelt down to help Jimmy up.

"Water…" Jimmy moaned.

"It's no good," Abigail told Sam. "He's gone too long without food or water, on top of being tortured."

"Al," Sam turned to his friend. "We're going to have to hold off on sending them back. Right now they need food and water."

"I saw a town which should be a two mile walk for us down the hills," Father Mac told them. "We can get Jimmy help there."

Father Mac then realized how dehydrated and famished even he was.

"And truthfully, it's not just Jimmy," the priest told Sam. "All of us could use food, water, and rest."

"Are the rest of you alright?" Sam asked the others in the group.

"I can make the walk," Abigail confirmed.

"So can I," nodded Sister Angela.

"Alright, let's move then," Sam told them.

"I'll go help Jimmy," Al walked over towards the handicapped young man.

"Go ahead," Sam told him. "I'll catch up. Right now I just want a moment alone with Donna."

"Alright Sam," Al agreed.

As Al left, Sam walked up first to Roy's grave as a mixture of emotions raged inside of him.

"I'm sorry I let you down," Sam told the deceased veteran. "I only knew you for a short while but I cherished our time together. Another time, another place, maybe I could've leaped back into your life and the two of us could've gone searching for Bigfoot. But now that'll never happen. I saved your life in the past but now I couldn't save you in the present. I'm sorry, Roy."

Next Sam walked up to the grave of Alia. He took the time to pluck a flower from the nearby ground and placed it on top of her grave.

"We didn't meet under the best circumstances," Sam stared at Alia's grave wistfully. "Hell, our first encounter almost ended with you killing me and ruining Jimmy's life. But I knew there was something good inside of you and you proved that to me when we leaped together. Not only that, you also saved Al's life, you saved my life, and you saved Abigail's life. I'll forever be in your debt, Alia."

Finally, he turned his head to Donna's grave.

"Well, what is there to say that hasn't already been said," Sam walked to her burial site and knelt down.

He looked down at his wedding ring.

"It's my fault this happened to you," Sam stated honestly. "I was the one who changed history so that you'd have married me after all. I was being selfish and I was only thinking about my own happiness. If I had only left you alone when I leaped back to your college era, you'd most likely still be alive today."

Sam paused to allow the tears flow down his face.

"I didn't deserve you," Sam took off his wedding ring and placed it on top of Donna's grave. "I'm sorry, Donna. I love you."

Before he could break down even further, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Abigail," Sam turned around. "You haven't left with the others?"

"Sam, I'm sorry what happened to Donna," Abigail clasped Sam's face.

"Not as sorry as I am," Sam shook his head. "If I had just left history intact and just let her leave me at the altar, she would still be alive today."

"Sam," Abigail looked at him intensely. "I don't want to bring back harsh memories of what happened but when your wife died, I looked into her eyes. They were the eyes of a woman who loved you and absolutely did not regret meeting you and becoming your wife."

"Yeah but…"

Abigail silenced him with a hug.

"Donna didn't regret meeting you because she loved you," Abigail told him. "And I don't regret meeting you either."

"Abigail, I…"

"You gave me Sammy Jo," Abigail assured him. "You gave me the best thing in my life I could ask for."

"Thank you Abigail," Sam hugged her in return.

oooo

"Any particular reason we're here?" asked Oswald.

"Be silent," Kairos ordered. "I have much to do here."

"Okay, don't answer me," Oswald sulked away.

The two of them had just arrived at Stonehenge. The sniper took the time to walk away and lean against one of the nearby stones.

Kairos walked towards the center of the stone formation and took out the damaged time staff. He laid it down and began chanting in Latin, enveloping the time staff with a glowing magic which emerged from the ground, fixing it instantly.

Oswald's eyes widened.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this," he muttered to himself.

With the newly fixed time staff, Kairos rose up and held it into the air as dark clouds gathered overhead.

At once, glowing runes emerged on all the standing stones in the area. The mystical time staff in his hands seemed to draw power from them.

He pointed his staff into the air as it dispersed a wave of energy which traveled towards the castle where Project Chronos was being hosted.

As soon as the energy wave hit the castle, the entire fortress became transformed. What started out as a simple but elegant medieval castle transformed into a towering mass of gothic spires and forbidden walls.

"It is from my new abode that time shall undergo a reformation," declared Kairos.

"Uh okay," Oswald blinked. "And what do you want me to do?"

"As soon as Sam Beckett arrives, kill him," ordered Kairos.

oooo

"Good thing I still had my credit cards on me," Al said to Sam as everybody took their keys. "Monetary exchange here was a real hassle."

By now, the entire group had checked in to a local tavern. Abigail, Sister Angela, Father Mac, and Jimmy had gotten enough nourishment to where they were healthy again. Sam, too, had finally gotten some food and drink as well, along with Al.

"Get some rest, everyone," Sam told the group. "Tomorrow this nightmare will be over and you can go back home."

Quietly, everybody headed to their rooms. Only Jimmy needed assistance as Father Mac helped him to his room to help tuck him in.

"First things first," Sam sat down on a nearby sofa with Al. "Once we send everybody else back, what will we do about that time mage?"

"Well, not a whole lot," admitted Al. "His control over time is so good he can freeze time, speed up his own healing, leap anybody back in time he wants, and who knows what else."

"Good ol' fisticuffs won't be solving this situation," Sam acknowledged grimly.

"But I have gotten this hourglass from Zoey," Al took out the mystical object. "It's supposedly the creation of some death goddess from Ireland. It has the same powers that his time staff does and with this on our side, we might just have a fighting chance after all."

"Do you know how it works?" asked Sam.

"Not entirely but we can take it out for a spin," Al offered.

"It's good to be prepared," agreed Sam.

The two friends headed outside but what greeted them outside was a shock they had not prepared for. In the distance was the castle which hosted Project Chronos. Instead of the drab gray castle they had seen before, now it had transformed into a nightmarish fortress filled from head to toe with gargoyles, gothic spires, and a massive moat.

Up above, thunder and lightning crackled above the newly refurbished castle.

"Holy Mother of Mary," Al gaped in shock.

"Oh my God!" the tavern owner stepped outside to join Sam and Al. "Just what happened to that place?"

"Something we shouldn't grow too comfortable with," Sam shook his head.

"I always knew there was something suspicious about that place," the tavern owner told Sam and Al. "In the past few years, there have always been men in black, men with guns in uniforms, and other shady looking ne'er-do-wells driving past my tavern towards that castle."

"Well your suspicions are correct," Al confirmed. "That castle was the site of a black ops project run by criminal elements."

"Dare I ask what they were doing?" the tavern owner asked.

"The kind of things that cost the lives of people close to you," Sam glared at the castle.

Realizing instinctively that Sam was talking about his own losses, the tavern owner sheepishly decided to head back inside.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the owner told them. "I'll be inside if you need my services. And let's pray to God whatever is in that castle doesn't make its way here."

After the owner headed back inside, both Sam and Al walked a little while away from the tavern and into a wooded area.

"So what exactly can you do with that hourglass?" Sam asked.

"Well, I haven't fully gotten used to it yet but so far, I can make is respond to my will," answered Al.

"So if you just hold it and will for time to freeze, it'll do it?"

"Something like that. Here, let me test it out."

Al Calavicci held the hourglass in his hand and concentrated, focusing solely on slowing time down to a crawl.

As soon as he looked up, he realized that the air around him seemed to have completely stopped. Sam, in the meantime, appeared to be frozen in place.

"So far so good," Al mumbled.

He walked towards Sam and then turned the hourglass over, allowing time to resume its course once again.

"Hey Sam," Al greeted his friend from the side.

"Al!" Sam was surprised. "You just disappeared on me and now you're next to me!"

"That's how this thing works apparently," Al replied. "I can use it to slow down or stop time. I don't know what else I can do with it though."

"Could I see that for a second?" asked Sam.

"Sure," Al handed the hourglass over.

Sam picked it up and held it in front of his face. He turned it upside down to watch the sands fall down the glass tube into the other side.

Without warning, the hourglass glowed, enveloping Sam in a similar aura comparable to his leaper's aura.

"Sam, what's going on?" Al panicked. "Don't tell me you're leaping again?"

"No," Sam shook his head, feeling warmth flowing into his body. "I'm not leaping this time."

The energy coalesced together, slowly forming into the shape of a woman. Soon, before both Sam and Al, there was a woman dressed in Celtic garbs.

"You!" Al gasped. "Nevena! I met you back in the Dark Ages!"

"Tis good to set eyes upon thee once more," Nevena smiled at Al.

Al reached over to clasp her hand but soon found that his hand phased right through her.

"Unfortunately, I am no longer of this world," Nevena sighed. "Though my earthly body perished, my spirit continued on and dwelt in the presence of the hourglass."

"Now I know how you feel whenever you're talking to me and I'm a hologram," Al said to Sam, who nodded in agreement.

"It's nice to meet you," Sam told her. "I heard that you helped to save my friend's life back in your era. Thank you."

Nevena smiled sadly. "Thy friend Al was a good man. I could not do otherwise."

"Nevena, what happened after Alia and I left?" asked Al. "The last thing I remember is that you and your children were surrounded by an army."

"Things did not end well," Nevena shook her head in sorrow. "I perished and mine children were taken from me."

"I'm sorry," Al closed his eyes sadly. "I should have stayed to help you and your children."

"No, it would have made no difference," Nevena reassured him. "If thou had done so, both thou and Alia would have perished against Wulfric's army. Thou were needed back in thy own time."

"What happened to your children?" asked Al. "Did they survive?"

"Only one," answered Nevena. "He was so filled with so much pain and rage at the loss of his mother and sister that darkness overcame his soul."

"There's nothing I could have done but I can't help but feel that all of your suffering was my fault," Al told her.

"The past cannot be revoked," Nevena said firmly. "However, there is the matter of the present."

"What would you have us do?" asked Sam Beckett.

"Kairos must be stopped," Nevena requested. "Thou must do whatever is necessary to put an end to his madness."

"We'll do our best but how can we do it?" asked Sam. "His power over time seems limitless."

"I will help thee as much as I am able to," Nevena told them. "However, salvation may come to thee yet through means beyond mine own magic."

"I take it we'll need to confront Kairos with the hourglass?" Al asked.

"Yes, it will help thee in thy mission," confirmed Nevena. "After my passing, I continued to reach out beyond the grave to my son but his thirst for vengeance and power grew to be too much to bear. Please, thou must stop him by any means necessary."

"Your son?" Sam was aghast. "Kairos is your son?"

"You… you mean that sweet little boy I befriended back when I met you?" Al was equally shocked. "He turned into this psychotic warlock?"

Nevena only nodded her head once in brief acknowledgement.

"I had reached out to him many times to encourage him to put an end to his dark path," Nevena confirmed. "However, he was too far gone. The only reason he had not conquered all of time was the fact that my son was defeated by a young wizard by the name of Ambrosius during his time and was sealed within the hourglass. It was only centuries later that he was released once more when the hourglass was broken."

"This is unbelievable," Al looked at Sam.

"All I ask of thee is to stop my son by any means necessary," Nevena pleaded. "He plans on travelling back to the very beginning of time to re-shape the fabric of our world in his own twisted image. Such a thing must not come to pass."

"God willing we'll do whatever we can," Sam promised her.

Nevena looked at Sam sadly but with understanding before vanishing into thin air once again.

"I still can't believe it," Al said to his friend. "The time mage was her son all along. Kairos sent me back in time and it was because of my involvement in his era that he became what he is today…"

"Time paradoxes can be crazy like that," Sam mused.

"They sure can," Al shook his head in bewilderment.

oooo

As daybreak arrived, Sam stood outside with Al Calavicci, patiently waiting in the wooded areas.

It was not long before Father Mac, Abigail, Sister Angela, Katie McBain, and Jimmy all arrived on the scene.

"Before I send all of you back to your own time," Sam began. "I want you to know that I'm sorry. I created Project Quantum Leap as a way to travel back in time and during my leaps, I believed that I was helping people. However, my own project was used against me by the people in Project Chronos and that time mage Kairos. They hunted all of you down and brought you to my time to face torture. I'm the reason you've all suffered so much in the past few days."

"Sam?" Al looked at his friend quizzically.

Father McRoberts was the first to speak out in protest.

"That's nonsense, Sam!" Father Mac declared. "If it wasn't for you, I would have never gotten over Sunny's death or made peace with God! It was through your help that I was able to find the strength to forgive Sunny's murderer. I was sinking into alcoholism and despair. You took me by the hand and got me out of that quicksand!"

"You… mentioned that most of us didn't have very good endings before you leaped into our lives," Katie said next. "If it weren't for you, Sam, I would have never gotten justice and my rapist would have walked free. You helped us when we couldn't even help ourselves."

"Before I became a nun, I didn't have any hope as an orphan," Sister Angela put a soothing hand on Sam's arm. "It was because of you coming into my life that we had our chapel built. You showed me that God does indeed work wonders in our lives."

"The two of us have also been through this before," Abigail said resolutely. "You gave me the greatest thing I could ever ask for… our daughter Sammy Jo."

Jimmy, on the other hand, had nothing to say. He simply went over and embraced Sam.

"Thank you for your kind words," Sam told them. "You'll all be in my heart forever."

With that, Samuel Beckett walked forth, holding the hourglass in his hand. He held the mystical artifact up and concentrated. Soon, the hourglass began to glow as it summoned multiple portals out of thin air.

"Sam, you did it!" Al congratulated.

Jimmy was the first to notice the LaMotta family in one of the portals.

"Frank!" Jimmy exclaimed. "It's Frank!"

"Go on, Jimmy," Sam smiled. "Take good care of yourself and your family."

Al led Jimmy towards the portal as the handicapped man walked through it.

"Godspeed Jimmy," Al said as a single tear came out of his eye, watching as Jimmy Lamotta walked through the portal to rejoin his family, disappearing with the portal.

Sister Angela was next. She noticed the portal which led directly to her chapel.

"Thank you for everything, Sam," Sister Angela smiled. "It was through you that I saw God's grace working miracles."

Slowly, Sister Angela stepped through the portal, vanishing from Sam's life forever and returning to her own.

Katie was the next one up. Before she stepped through her portal, however, she walked over to Sam and hugged him.

"You've given me my life back and you've given me the justice that I would have never gotten if you hadn't leaped into my life," Katie thanked him. "I'll always remember you."

"I'll always keep you in my heart," Sam promised, hugging her back.

After hugging Sam, Katie walked through her portal, returning to her renewed life as well.

"You've also saved my life, Sam," Father McRoberts shook Sam's hand. "God bless you."

"God bless you too, Father Mac," Sam clasped Father Mac's hand firmly.

"You and Al are in each other's lives for a reason and it's no small coincidence that you've become the best of friends," Father Mac added as he walked towards his portal. "Take good care of each other."

"Take care, Father McRoberts," Al nodded his head in respect as he and Sam waved goodbye to the priest.

Abigail was the final time traveler to walk up to Sam. As she came up, Al walked away to allow them a bit of privacy.

"Deep down, I wish this could have ended another way," Abigail said to Sam.

"I do too," Sam admitted. "But things are the way they are. I still have a mission to complete and you have Sammy Jo back in your own time to care for. I wish that we could be together, but we both have separate roles to play in our own timelines. I love you, Abigail, more than anything, but when you love someone, you also have to know when to let them go."

"I love you too, Sam," Abigail whispered in Sam's ear. "Thank you for saving my life. And thank you for our daughter."

Abigail leaned forward and gave Sam a quick kiss on the lips. She did not dare prolong it for the knowledge that to hold on to him longer would only weaken her resolve to return to her own time. However, she realized that she still had a life and a duty to fulfill in her own era, not just for herself but for Sammy Jo as well.

"Goodbye Sam," Abigail walked away.

"Goodbye Abigail," Sam said as tears streamed down his face.

Before long, Abigail disappeared into the portal leading back into her own timeline, leaving behind both Sam and Al.

The two of them looked on wistfully for a few seconds longer before walking away together as Al put a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder.


	19. The Sands of Time Part 1

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_The Sands of Time Part 1_

_485 AD._

"No, stay away!" cried Sabert.

Ignoring his pleas, the robed figured stepped over the bodies of numerous slain Saxon soldiers.

Sabert raised his crossbow and fired. The figure merely raised his staff and blocked the volley, allowing the arrow to penetrate wood.

"Who are you?" demanded Sabert.

"Doth thou not remember?" the figure asked. "It was quite long ago that thou destroyed the life that was mine."

"I don't remember!" Sabert fired another two shot.

This time, the arrows were stopped in mid-air. Almost magically, they flew back, striking Sabert in both legs.

"Aaaaahhh!" screamed Sabert.

"I was the boy whose mother thou has taken away!" the figure took off his hood, revealing the baleful face of a young man whose youthful features were already showing strains from years of dark magic.

"You?" Sabert was incredulous. "You were that witch's brat?!"

"Where is Wulfric?" demanded the fully grown Sanctus.

"He's down the hall," Sabert revealed. "Please, I've had enough. Show mercy. I was only obeying my uncle's orders back then!"

"Thou hast taken years of life away from me," Sanctus knelt down. "Perhaps it is time I did the same to thee."

Sanctus grabbed Sabert by the face, enveloping him with dark magic. Sabert screamed in horror as his very lifeforce was drained from him. Soon, Sabert's visage turned from that of an old man to that of a skeleton. After Sanctus was complete, Sabert's remains fell to the ground like grains of sand.

Getting back up, Sanctus stormed down the halls until he reached the doors which led to Wulfric's chambers. Without hesitation, Sanctus flung them open.

"Reveal thyself, Wulfric!" Sanctus yelled. "Thy hour is at hand!"

Wulfric stood only a few feet away from his chair. He had his sword with him and from the looks of it, possessed every intention of fighting to the bitter end.

"When I received reports that some sorcerer was killing my men, I didn't believe it," Wulfric revealed. "But then you stormed my castle, slaying dozens of my men. The ones who aren't dead have fled. Just who are you?"

"Years ago, thou had mine mother slain and my sister taken from me," Sanctus revealed.

"Yes, yes, I remember now!" Wulfric smiled. "I'm amazed you survived!"

"Where is mine sister?" demanded Sanctus.

"Oh… her," Wulfric avoided the malevolent gaze of Sanctus. "If you must know, I got tired of her after a couple of years and sold her to some slavers overseas."

"Then thou has sealed thy fate!" Sanctus pointed his staff towards Wulfric.

"Oh please, you could easily kill me with your vaunted magic," Wulfric taunted. "But looking at you, I still see the pathetic little boy from all those years ago. Could you truly defeat me as a man?"

"Very well," Sanctus held his staff firmly.

Wulfric charged at his opponent, swinging his sword down at the head of Sanctus. Quickly, Sanctus raised his staff to block the blow from the Saxon warlord.

Wulfric smiled and planted his foot into Sanctus' stomach, knocking him on his back. He raised his sword and brought it down as Sanctus dodged, slashing into stone ground twice. Sanctus thrust his staff forward, striking Wulfric in the stomach and sending him stumbling back.

"That's the spirit!" Wulfric said with a gleam.

Angrily, Sanctus swung his staff. Wulfric blocked it with his sword and pushed the younger man back. Soon, Sanctus felt himself being pushed back against the wall by the much stronger man. The only thing which held the Saxon off was the staff he held in one hand which blocked the blade.

"I remember your mother well," the Saxon warlord told Sanctus. "Don't worry. I'll send you over to meet her soon—"

Wulfric gasped in sudden shock. He looked down, seeing a dagger plunged into his side, drawing blood.

He finally stumbled back as Sanctus wiped the blood of the dagger off with his own tunic.

"Thou hast requested that I face thee as a mortal man with no magic to aid mine cause and I have," Sanctus said. "I battled thee as a man who would resort to any means to avenge the family I once possessed!"

Wulfric finally smiled, realizing that Sanctus had actually fulfilled his promise to not kill him with any magic, even if it meant taking a cheap shot through a hidden dagger.

"Well played, boy," Wulfric fell down on his back as blood gushed from his wound.

"Husband!" a woman's voice rang out.

Sanctus looked up, seeing a sight which filled his very soul with an intense influx of emotions and shock.

oooo

"What is going on here?" one of the technicians demanded as Lee Harvey Oswald stepped into the room. "What's happened to this whole place?"

Oswald stepped inside the room full of Project Chronos' technicians and scientists. They all in shock that the castle had been transmutated by the time magic of Kairos. He noted that much of their laboratory equipment and computers had been destroyed in the transformation. A few of them were even injured from the upheaval.

"That warlock's got new plans for this castle," Oswald told them plainly.

"Whatever happened to this castle just hit us like an earthquake!" the technician told him. "We nearly died!"

"And yet here you are," Oswald replied. "Alive and still intact."

"To do what?" the technician demanded. "Wellington is no longer here. And I don't see Zoey around anymore. Where are the heads of our project?!"

"You don't need to worry about them," Oswald reassured. "Just go about your business and worry about doing your job."

"With all due respect, I didn't sign up for this," the technician huffed. "Ever since that madman Kairos showed up, our job has turned into a Russian Roulette. We all signed up for Project Chronos to make a profit. Now this project has turned upside down!"

"What are you saying?" demanded Oswald.

"I'm saying I've had enough," the technician declared. "I'll be taking my leave."

As the technician took a single step forward, Oswald whipped out his pistol and shot the man square in the heart.

"You…" the technician sputtered before falling to the floor, his body letting loose spasms before life finally left his veins.

"Would anyone else want to make a statement like this man?" Oswald waved his gun towards the rest of Oswald's colleagues.

The other scientists and technicians looked at each other nervously, whispering amongst themselves. Soon, a few more soldiers armed with machine guns entered the room to back the authority of Lee Harvey Oswald.

"No one leaves this project," Oswald ordered them. "Now return to your posts!"

Reluctantly, all the Project Chronos workers returned to their stations.

"Excellent work," Kairos stepped into the room. "Thou hast done exceedingly well, Lee Harvey Oswald."

"Thanks," Oswald grinned. "Just, uh, save Sam Beckett and his little buddy for me."

"Most assuredly they will be thine," promised Kairos. "I expect them to return very soon and when that event occurs, thou shalt have thy revenge!"

oooo

At the London Heathrow Airport, both Sam Beckett and Al Calavicci waited with baited anticipation in line as a steady stream of people came through.

"That flight from New York arrived ten minutes ago," Sam looked at Al. "Think they're in this line?"

"It's gotta be this one," promised Al. "Sure I made them fly over here last minute but I think they all got the importance of the situation."

Soon, Al saw some familiar faces in the crowd that was surging forward.

"Gooshie!" Al shouted. "It's you!"

"Al?" Gooshie turned his head.

Not only was Gooshie there. Tina, Dr. Beeks, and Sammy Jo were all present.

"Sam! Al!" Tina rushed forward to hug the two men.

"We weren't sure you'd make it," Sam told them.

"We didn't know where you went," Gooshie shook Sam's hand. "But now that you're back, are you sure you don't want to head back home?"

"I'd like nothing more," Sam shook his head. "But I still have something I need to get done here."

"Al, you did tell us something about how our rival project was based here," Tina turned to Al.

"I did," Al confirmed. "And it's going to be our job to shut them down."

"Sammy Jo," Sam smiled at his daughter. "Good to have the four of you here. We could use your expertise."

"Good to see you as well, Dr. Beckett," Sammy Jo greeted her father. "And actually, there are five of us."

"Five?" Sam looked confused.

Sammy Jo raised her wrist, revealing a metallic watch with a bright blue neon center.

"Hello Dr. Beckett," the voice of Ziggy came forth from the watch.

"Wow, you configured Ziggy into that watch?" Sam was surprised.

"Absolutely," confirmed Sammy Jo. "We're also going to need Ziggy's help in this mission."

"I'll do whatever I can to help," promised Ziggy.

Al and Sam stared at each other in pleasant surprise.

"How'd you manage to sneak Ziggy past airport security?" asked Al.

"Trust me, Sammy Jo's just that good," Tina assured Al.

"Yeah, I think I know why," Al muttered, looking at Sam.

"In any case, we'd better get you to the hotels," Sam ushered everybody towards the cabs waiting outside the airport. "You all must be tired."

"Gooshie, did you bring your toothbrush, toothpaste, and other toiletries?" asked Al, concerned about his co-worker's bad breath.

"Of course," Gooshie promised. "Why's that?"

"Oh, no reason," Al replied. "Just making sure you and Tina have got all you need for this impromptu vacation.

oooo

After much walking, Lee Harvey Oswald's search took him up a flight of stairs that led to the very top of the main castle tower, a vast space that seemed to take up at least a whole basketball court.

Around him were several standing stones not unlike those at Stonehenge itself. A little further away was yet another set of stairs that led to an actual throne. Naturally perched on top was Kairos himself.

"You know how long it took for me to find you?" Oswald grimaced.

"Thy search is over, is it not?" Kairos looked down menacingly.

"So what next?" demanded Oswald.

"Sam Beckett will arrive eventually," promised Kairos. "When that moment comes, thou hast thy chance to eliminate him."

"I'd like that very much," Oswald smiled. "But what will you do up here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Kairos pointed towards the clouded skies above.

Thunder parted from the skies, striking the time staff in Kairos' hand, powering it up.

Oswald looked up to the sky in both shock and amazement. Right below the gray clouds was a swirling vortex.

"What… what the hell is that?" Oswald gasped.

"I am not the illiterate medieval knave one in thy era would take me for," Kairos replied. "I have read up on the studies of Project Chronos. With the magic at my disposal and the science I have gleaned from thy era, I have pooled both resources together, summoning a strong enough spell with the aid of Lothos and thy modern technology to create this wormhole."

"You… what the hell are you going to do with this wormhole?" demanded Oswald.

"Journey to the beginning of time itself and recreate the world in mine own image," promised Kairos. "By tomorrow, the wormhole will have grown big enough for me to complete my task."

Oswald looked at the time mage incredulously.

"You're kidding me, right?" he said wincingly.

"All I have said will come to pass," Kairos replied. "Now go. Prepare for the eventual arrival of Sam Beckett. Then thou shalt have thy opportunity for revenge."

"Alright if you say so," Oswald walked away.

Although he was still being obedient outwardly, on the inside Lee Harvey Oswald was brimming with ideas of mutiny. Once he killed Sam, he would bring the body of the man before Kairos and then just as quickly seize the warlock's time staff and put a bullet through his skull.

Oswald then realized the potential of the time staff. With it, he himself could travel through time and return to his own era to make sure that the revolution of the proletariat was won on every continent. With such power at his disposal, the victory of international communism would be absolutely secure.

"You're the boss for now," Oswald muttered, taking one last look at Kairos before heading down the stairs.

oooo

"The weather's not going to be good for today or tomorrow," Sammy Jo told Sam and Al, looking at her watch, which was now infused with Ziggy's essence.

The three of them were sitting inside a pub underneath their hotel. Tina, Gooshie, and Dr. Beeks were already inside their hotel rooms at this point.

"Yeah, I noticed the skies are pretty overcast right now," Sam admitted. "But that makes it perfect for us to storm the castle by surprise tomorrow."

"I've also ordered us a rental van for tomorrow," Al told the two. "It should take us at least over two hours under normal circumstances to reach the castle. But with all this rain, it might be longer."

"You're the one with the computer abilities," Sam told his daughter. "We'll be relying on you to give us the layout of the whole place."

"Gotcha," Sammy Jo reached inside her pockets. "By the way, I've got the earpieces for you."

She took out the earpieces and handed them to Sam and Al.

"Be sure to wear them at all times so I can relay instructions and give you the scoop on what to expect," Sammy Jo reminded them.

"Thanks Sammy Jo," Sam told her. "And I have something for you as well."

"Oh?" Sammy Jo was surprised.

Sam took out a handgun and gave it to her.

"I took it from one of the guards we knocked out," Sam told her with a fatherly concern in his voice. "You should be out of harm's way in the van, but just in case anything happens, here's something to protect yourself with."

"Thanks," Sammy Jo replied in a somewhat confused manner, detecting the hint of paternal concern in Sam's voice but not knowing what to make of it.

She took the gun and placed it inside her purse.

"Sam's right, we're not dealing with any ordinary enemies here," Al reminded her. "Trust me on this."

"Alright," Sammy Jo finally smiled. "You're the boss. In any case, I think I'm going to go upstairs for some rest."

"Have a good night Sammy Jo," Sam told her.

Sammy Jo Fuller smiled and walked away from the table to the stairs that led to the hotel upstairs.

"I felt something right there," Al told his friend. "And I think Sammy Jo felt it too."

"She's the product between me and the woman I loved," Sam took a sip of water. "There's nothing I wouldn't do to keep her safe."

"Are you going to tell her?" asked Al.

"I don't know," admitted Sam. "Maybe when this is all over… maybe…"

"How are you boys doing?" the bartender came over to them.

The man had been working far away from them so they had never gotten a glimpse of his face. Now, however, Sam raised his head to get the surprise of a lifetime.

"You!" Sam exclaimed.

"Who?" Al was confused.

Before Sam stood Al the bartender, the same man Sam had encountered in the 1950s when he had made a short stop at that mining town. It was the same man whom he believed to be either Father Time or God Himself.

"How are you doing, Sam?" asked Bartender Al.

"I… didn't think I'd be seeing you again," admitted Sam.

"You know this guy?" Al Calavicci inquired.

"Remember that one leap we had where I was in that mining town?" Sam turned to Al.

"Yeah?" Al replied, remembering the moment only incidentally.

"Well, I met this same guy back then!" exclaimed Sam. "He was the bartender!"

"Impossible!" Al countered. "He survived all the way to 2008?"

"He's not just any guy, Al," insisted Sam. "I think he's some sort of higher power, like Father Time or something."

"So… does this mean he can make Kairos disappear?" Al was compelled to ask.

"No," Bartender Al shook his head. "That task is not mine to complete."

"But you seem to understand the mysteries of time," Sam was confused. "When I was with you, I finally discovered that the real reason I kept leaping through time was because of my subconscious impulse to continue helping the lives of others throughout the decades."

"That's true," Bartender Al replied.

"Well back then when I met you," Sam continued, "you implied to me that my leaps would get progressively harder and they have. If I'm seeing you for a second time, that can only mean you're here to tell me something important again."

"Wait, hold up a second?" Al Calavicci raised an eyebrow. "Sam, are you telling me the real reason you kept leaping through time was because you subconsciously wanted to?"

"Well, yeah, that was the reason," Sam admitted.

"So you mean to tell me after all this time, you could have leaped back home if you wanted to?" Al Calavicci was shocked.

"I had the opportunity to," confessed Sam. "But I became convinced that I had to continue leaping."

"You son of a bitch!" Al Calavicci glared at Bartender Al. "Sam could have finally leaped home and you convinced him not to?!"

"Al…" Sam said softly.

"If you're some higher power, why didn't you convince Sam to just return home?" Al Calavicci demanded.

"Al, it was my choice," Sam insisted.

"Why didn't you just make the choice to leap home for good?" Al Calavicci asked brusquely.

"Because I had to make the most important leap of all," Sam said quietly.

"Oh, and what was so important that you chose not to come home?" Al Calavicci was livid.

"I made the leap for you," Sam confessed.

"For me?" Al blinked.

"In a past leap, I had the chance to change the past so that your wife Beth never got married to that sleazy lawyer but I didn't succeed," Sam told his friend.

"Wait, Beth and I… never got back together originally?" Al Calavicci's heart sank.

Everything Sam was telling him hit Al like a punch to the gut. Reeling back in shock, Al Calavicci almost fell of his chair.

"After I was done meeting Al the Bartender, I made one final leap to correct my mistake," Sam admitted. "I leaped back to meet Beth a second time and told her that you were alive and to wait for you."

"You… you did all of that?" Al Calavicci's face almost sank. "And I… never got with Beth and had our daughters in the original history?"

"No you didn't," Sam confirmed sadly. "I'm sorry, Al."

"This… all this is too much to take in," Al finally got up. "I have to go outside…"

Excusing himself, Al got up and walked out of the pub in a brisk pace.

"Al!" Sam called out.

"Let him go for the moment Sam," Bartender Al told Sam. "He needs at least a few minutes alone to sort this all out."

"I'm sorry," Sam said to Bartender Al. "I didn't intend for things to get as awkward as they did."

"He reacted the only way he could," Bartender Al conceded. "I can't blame him for his reaction."

"Since you're here in my life again," Sam inquired. "Does this mean something is about to happen again and I'll make to make another tough choice?"

"Sam, I'm here because you've reached a pivotal stage," Bartender Al told him. "Have you given any thought as to what you'll do in order to stop Kairos?"

"Nothing we throw at him seems to work," Sam admitted. "Whatever we inflict on him, he just heals with his time staff or his magic."

"And do you believe the answer is to fight fire with fire?" asked Bartender Al. "After all, Kairos is still looking to get this hourglass back in order to fuse it with his time staff."

"I could try," Sam said uncertainly. "But even if I did use this hourglass, Kairos still has decades of experience in sorcery over me. Besides, I'm a scientist. Casting spells isn't really my thing."

"Ah, so you believe there can be a logical way of beating him?" Bartender Al asked. "Besides, didn't he fuse his time staff with the computer program which belonged to Project Chronos?"

"Then there's a chance that Lothos can be somehow countered," Sam speculated. "Maybe we can hack it or maybe we can damage it just enough or…"

Suddenly realization dawned upon Sam.

"I just remembered!" Sam recalled. "Sammy Jo! She came up with the solution right under our noses!"

"Go to her," Bartender Al encouraged.

"Thank you," Sam told him. "Thank you for everything. Before I go, will we see each other again?"

"We will," Bartender Al assured him and smiled.

oooo

"Al?" Sam stepped outside the pub to see Al sitting on a sofa in the lounge area.

The older man looked like he was deep in thought.

"Oh, Sam," Al Calavicci looked like he was still in a mental haze. "It's you."

"Al, I can only imagine what you're feeling right now," Sam told his friend.

"How am I feeling?" Al looked down at the ground. "Like I've lived a lie my whole life?"

"How can you say that?" asked Sam.

"Because originally, Beth and I were never together," Al said bitterly. "We were never destined to be together."

"You have Beth now," Sam pointed out. "And all you can think about is how you didn't have her originally?"

"I know it's selfish of me," Al looked up with moisture in his eye. "And I know I should be grateful that Beth is with me now. But it just kills me on the inside to finally find out that Beth and I were never a part of the works."

"It's okay Al," Sam sat down next to his friend. "She's with you now and that's what matters."

"I love her," Al admitted. "And I'm grateful that you helped me and changed history so that the two of us could be together. But I have to admit, this is going to be something I'm going to mull over for a long time."

"I understand," Sam said quietly. "I once had the chance to help you and Beth get back together but that wasn't the real mission. That bartender was the one who made me realize I had a second chance to right the wrongs in your life."

"Well… I guess I should go apologize to the guy for snapping at him like that," Al said sheepishly.

"Before we do, we have to stop by Sammy Jo's room," Sam told Al.

"Why's that?" asked Al. "Besides, isn't she in bed by now?"

"Well, Sammy Jo was the one who brought Ziggy along, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Remember the first time Project Chronos led an assault on Project Quantum Leap?" Sam pointed out. "Well after that incident, Sammy Jo inoculated Ziggy with a powerful firewall completely capable of repelling any viral attacks from alien programs like Lothos."

"Okay," Al said, waiting for Sam to shed further light on his revelation.

"Well, Kairos has fused his magical time staff with the computer program that is Lothos," Sam continued. "No matter how much magic flows into Lothos, it's still a computer program in the end. And guess what? That time mage will be waiting for us to show up at his castle so that he can take his hourglass back and fuse it with that time staff."

Al looked at his partner in amazement. Slowly he was beginning to see how Sam was piecing everything together.

"Ziggy's anti-virus firewall is still going strong right now," Al pointed out. "Sam, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"It's a crazy idea but it's crazy enough to work," Sam smiled.

oooo

Just as Sammy Jo Fuller was about to turn off the lights in her room, she heard a knocking.

At the moment, she was still in her pajamas so she figured there would be no harm in answering it. Walking over to the door, she looked through the peeping glass to see both Sam and Al there.

"Dr. Beckett!" Sammy Jo opened the door.

"Sammy Jo, sorry to interrupt you like this," Sam told her. "But do you have Ziggy with you?"

"Yeah, why's that?" asked Sammy Jo.

"Well, we were hoping we could borrow her in her current form," Al told her.

"There's, uh, no need to really borrow her," Sammy Jo pointed out. "I mean, she was your invention in the first place, Dr. Beckett."

Sammy Jo went to her bedside to pick up the watch which contained Ziggy. She then handed it to Sam.

"And Ziggy still has the anti-virus firewall which can protect her from Lothos?" asked Sam.

"Of course," Sammy Jo answered.

"Thank you Sammy Jo," Sam smiled. "Have a good night."

"You too, Dr. Beckett," Sammy Jo acknowledged.

oooo

Standing outside, both Sam and Al looked around in the courtyard to make sure that nobody was around.

Surely enough, most people were already inside either sleeping or watching TV.

"So what now?" asked Al.

"Now, I guess we fuse these two together somehow," Sam said, holding the hourglass in one hand and Ziggy in the other.

"I gotta say, Sam," admitted Al. "This is risky business right here."

"Yeah, but if we're going to put away Kairos for good, we need to take that risk," acknowledged Sam.

He held the hourglass up and turned it upside down. As the sands poured down, the mystical hourglass began to glow. Sam then took the watch which housed Ziggy's entire mainframe and placed it on top of the hourglass, holding both items together with his hands, using his will alone to try to complete the merger.

Sam then closed his eyes as the hourglass glowed bright blue.

"Sam, you did it!" Al announced.

Sam opened his eyes and saw in his hands the hourglass. Except this time, the wooden hourglass had turned a silvery metal on the outside. The glass itself had turned a dark blue hue as well.

"Al, can I count on you to hold on to this?" asked Sam.

"You got it, Sam," Al nodded.

"Dr. Beckett, what has happened to me?" Ziggy's voice emerged from the hourglass. "There are energies flowing into me which I do not comprehend."

"Don't worry Ziggy," Sam reassured his supercomputer. "Things will be alright."

"I feel like I could do something out of the ordinary," Ziggy replied. "Like pull a rabbit out of a hat. Were you not a magician in one of your past leaps, Dr. Beckett? Just think of the magic we could make together…"

"Same old Ziggy," Al smiled.

"We will make magic together Ziggy," promised Sam. "But just not now. You'll get your chance tomorrow."

"Very well, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy answered. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"You ready for tomorrow, Sam?" asked Al.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Sam agreed. "Now let's go and get some rest."

oooo

After nighttime had passed, the trip to the castle had been long and eventful. Even though they had a plan, both Sam and Al realized that there were still at least dozens of things that could go wrong.

This time, though, they were rested and relaxed from a good night's sleep and plenty of food. At the very least, they were focused on the mission at hand, however potentially suicidal it may have been.

"Everybody remember the plan?" asked Sam.

"Loud and clear," confirmed Gooshie.

"We provide the distraction for you and Al to sneak in," confirmed Tina.

"I'll stay inside this van from a distance to monitor you from the inside," Sammy Jo acknowledged.

"Oh geez, would you look at that!" Al exclaimed, looking at the clouds above the castle.

"Oh boy," Sam opened his mouth in amazement.

Above was a massive wormhole opened up right above one of the main towers of the castle. Thunder and lightning crackled all around it as the wormhole seemed to progressively grow bigger by the minute.

"Well, we've come this far, haven't we?" Gooshie pointed out.

"You're right," Sam admitted. "It's now or never."

"Let's make it now then," Al opened the door.

"You ready, Al?" Sam asked as he too stepped outside.

"This doesn't look like a cakewalk," Al replied. "But I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Sam."

"Thanks Al," Sam smiled. "The feeling's mutual."

oooo

_485 AD._

"What is this?" demanded Sanctus.

The woman standing before him was dressed up in a Saxon maiden's outfit. She carried a young child in her arms.

"Please, spare his life," she pleaded.

"Who art thou?" demanded Sanctus.

"I am his wife," she replied.

"Sabina, get out of here!" Wulfric yelled at her. "This does not concern you!"

"Sabina!" Sanctus stared at his long-lost sister in shock.

"So I lied about selling her off," Wulfric smiled. "It was better that you didn't find out."

"Thou hast truly sealed thy fate," Sanctus walked towards Wulfric menacingly.

"Please, don't!" Sabina begged. "Without his father, who will care for this child?"

"A child thou had with this monster?" Sanctus shot her a murderous glare.

"Please, I had no other choice," Sabina pleaded.

Telekinetically, Sanctus summoned Wulfric's sword to his own hand.

"Go on," Wulfric urged him. "I wouldn't hesitate to do the same to you."

Sanctus did not need to be told twice as he thrust the sword into Wulfric's heart, killing the Saxon warlord for good.

He then left the sword in Wulfric's chest, turning his attention back to Sabina.

"Thou art here to help me?" Sabina asked. "Please, if thou art truly my brother, help me and mine child survive."

Sanctus looked at her with much loathing. True she did not have a choice in being forcibly paired with the Saxon warlord, but she was still tainted by the same monster who killed their mother. Even if they were reunited now, things would never be the same again. The gap in their lives could truly not be mended anymore.

"I had something else in mind," Sanctus drew out his dagger once more.

Sabina looked on in horror as he advanced upon both her and her child, retreating until her back was against a wall and there was nowhere else to turn to.


	20. The Sands of Time Part 2

**A Leap Into Destiny**

_The Sands of Time Part 2_

_485 AD._

The former monk Aidan stood in waiting as he watched the bodies strewn across the castle's moat.

He had gone through much in life to help the young boy whom he had found heavily wounded years ago. Aidan had even been expelled from his monastic order because of the dark magic that the boy Sanctus had practiced. However, through thick and through thin, he had stayed with the boy when no one else had wanted to deal with him.

Now, that boy had become a man and was singlehandedly storming the castle of the Saxon warlord who had stolen his sister from him years ago.

Aidan sighed. Sanctus had promised him he would bring his sister back from the clutches of those warlords. He wondered what was taking the young man so long, especially considering he had a considerable amount of magic at his disposal.

Finally, Aidan headed down to the hill just as he saw a man walk out of the bridge across the castle moat.

The former monk stared at the blood-stained clothes of the young man known as Sanctus.

"Is it done?" asked Aidan. "Hast thou found thy sister?"

"It was not to be," Sanctus replied coldly. "Her kidnapper Wulfric walks amongst us no more."

"And thy sister?" Aidan inquired. "Was thou able to retrieve her?"

"Nay," Sanctus shook his head. "As fate would have it, mine own sister had been tainted by that monster."

"What?" Aidan was confused.

"I did what I deemed necessary," Sanctus raised his blood-stained dagger. "Sabina had been tainted by Wulfric and bore his child. At that moment, I realized that the dear sister I held in my heart was no more."

"Thou… thou hast murdered thy sister and her child in cold blood?" Aidan was horrified.

"Mine vengeance is complete," Sanctus declared resolutely.

"I have traveled with thee for this long," Aidan finally declared. "Sanctus, I have helped and clothed thee when no other soul would!"

"Do not refer to me by that accursed name!" Sanctus growled. "That wretched boy died at this very moment!"

"I have also been expelled from the monastery on account of helping thee in thy quest," Aidan continued, unencumbered. "I had thought that thou would show mercy and love once more when thy sister had been rescued. But the man I see before me is twisted with hatred and darkness. And I will no longer follow such a man!"

Aidan got up and turned around, walking away from the young boy he had once rescued.

With darkness in his eyes, Sanctus grabbed his dagger. The former monk Aidan took no more than three steps before Sanctus quickly plunged the knife into his back.

"I thank thee for thy services all these years," Sanctus smiled. "I surely would not have survived without thy help. But now… thy services are no longer needed."

He twisted the knife in deeper until Aidan's heart finally gave out.

oooo

"Excuse me?" Gooshie knocked at the door. "Excuse me?!"

After knocking on the wooden doors of the palace several times already, some of the security finally opened up.

Gooshie and Tina stood before the security personnel in vacation clothes.

"What the hell do you want?" the security guard demanded.

"Hello sir, how are you doing this evening?" Gooshie replied cheerfully.

"I'm fine, now beat it!" the security guard answered.

"Beat it?" Tina looked hurt. "But we just got here!"

"You're on private property!" another guard snorted. "Now leave."

"Private property?" Gooshie protested. "Now hold on for just one second! I've got a brochure here with me that guarantee us a tour of this fine castle and a free dinner!"

"Tour?" the security personnel looked at each other.

"Yeah, but the castle here looks a lot different than what it looks like on the brochure," Tina pointed out, handing the piece of paper to the guards.

The guards looked down and sure enough, there was a picture of the old castle that Wellington had purchased for himself. They stared up and realized that castle they were in now had been completely transformed by the dark magic of Kairos.

"Look, uh, the address is right on this brochure," one of the security chiefs stepped forward. "But this castle is undergoing renovations right now."

"C'mon!" insisted Gooshie as he held Tina in his arms. "My wife and I paid good money for this tour!"

Before the guard could respond, a van drove up towards the front of the castle, parking just next to the moat.

Out of the van stepped Dr. Verbena Beeks and several other tourists.

"What are all these people doing here?" the security guard sighed.

Dr. Beeks crossed the moat with her guests. They had been overseas tourists she had managed to hook in with promises of a castle tour during the morning.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Dr. Beeks greeted the guards.

"Looks like my husband and I aren't the only ones here for the tour," Tina remarked.

"Have all security personnel re-convene at our location," one of the guards said to his partner. "We're going to have to shoo these people away the hard way."

"My guests and I are here for the tour," Dr. Beeks told the guard.

"Sorry, but we're going to be closed for a long time," the guard replied gruffly.

"Excuse me?" Dr. Beeks raised an eyebrow. "My guests and I have driven up to two hours to get here. And now you're going to tell us they can't get their money's worth?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," the guard huffed. "Now beat it."

"This is an outrage, I tell you!" Gooshie shook his fist at the sky. "We came to see the castle and we're being cheated out of that experience!"

"Stonehenge isn't far away," the guard shot back. "Why don't you all just go there and leave this place?"

"Oh no," Dr. Beeks shook her head. "We will not be leaving until we get to see what we came for."

As the argument between the guards and the members of Project Quantum Leap continued, none of the security personnel realized that the conflict Gooshie, Tina, and Dr. Beeks had started was only a mere pretext for the success of another mission.

oooo

It didn't take long before the two guards watching over the back entrance heard orders from their compatriots and left their stations to deal with the unwanted guests that comprised of the second half of Project Quantum Leap.

"Are you inside?" asked Sammy Jo through the miniature earphone that both Sam and Al wore.

"All clear," Sam confirmed as he opened the door to allow both Al and himself inside.

"So where next, Sammy Jo?" asked Al Calavicci.

"It wasn't easy for me," admitted Sammy Jo. "But I managed to get a basic layout of this new castle after hacking a local satellite."

"So where to next?" inquired Sam.

"You'll need to head down the hall until you reach a staircase," Sammy Jo told them. "Go up two floors until you reach another hall. Turn right until you reach another set of stairs, which should take you directly to the top of the castle."

"Alright, thanks Sammy Jo," Sam nodded.

"Good luck, Sam," Sammy Jo replied.

"Sam, you sure your plan will work?" asked Al.

"Not really, but it's worth a try," Sam took out the hourglass, which had now been fused with Ziggy.

"Well, we've tried everything so far against that warlock," Al sighed. "Maybe this time it'll stick."

As Sam and Al walked up the staircase, Al reached for his holster and took out his gun, handing it to Sam.

"Here, I want you to hold on to this just in case," Al told his friend. "You're a better shot than I am."

"But what about you?" asked Sam.

"Hey, I'll find something," Al shrugged. "I mean, this is an old castle. I'll find a sword or mace somewhere.

"Alright then," Sam took hold of the gun.

Finally, the two of them reached the second floor which featured a big hallway leading down to yet another staircase.

"Almost there, just a little further," Sam held on to the gun tightly.

oooo

"We came here under the worst of weather conditions," Gooshie told the head of security, trying to reason with him further. "The least you could do is let us in to shelter us from what bad weather."

Gooshie was not wrong either. The weather above was extremely dark thanks to the wormhole that Kairos had created.

"What in the world is that?!" Tina pointed up towards the wormhole itself.

"It's none of your concern," the guard warned her. "Now back away."

"I would like to speak to your supervisor," Dr. Beeks told him. "We came a long way and we didn't come to be cheated."

The head of security looked behind him as more security arrived on the scene, brandishing their rifles.

"Alright," the head of security told her. "This debate has gone on far enough. You're all trespassing and now I suggest you get a move-on or else we may have to resort to more drastic measures."

All of the security guards present held up their rifles.

"Well, no sense arguing," Gooshie backed off.

Soon, Gooshie, Tina, and Dr. Beeks walked away from the soldiers along with the rest of the guests towards their vehicles.

"Think we bought Sam enough time?" asked Tina.

"Let's hope so," Gooshie crossed his fingers.

oooo

"So far so good," Sam said as he and Al headed towards the final staircase which could bring them to the top of the tower.

"Sam, if either one of us doesn't make it, I just want you to know this," Al said to his companion. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

"Aw, don't be getting all mushy on me, Al," Sam joked.

"I'm serious, Sam," Al replied. "If it wasn't for you, I'd never have seen Beth again. And I would have never had those beautiful daughters with her."

"It was nothing," Sam said humbly. "I was given the chance and I took it."

"It means everything to me, Sam," Al admitted. "Now I understand you weren't just leaping around time helping random strangers who would never know you… you were also helping those close to you."

Without warning, Al felt a strong arm wrap itself around his throat.

"Had no idea you two were this close of friends," a familiar voice sneered.

Sam turned around to see Lee Harvey Oswald with one arm wrapped around Al's neck and the other arm training a gun on Al Calavicci's head.

"You!" Sam shouted.

"We've got unfinished business, you and I," Oswald smiled.

"What do you want?" demanded Sam.

"Let's finish our duel," Oswald replied. "But first, put that gun back in your holster."

Seeing how Oswald had his gun trained on Al, Sam had no choice. He did as the communist assassin ordered.

"Step inside that room," ordered Oswald. "Then our duel begins."

"Leave Al out of this," Sam demanded.

"You're in no position to be making demands," Oswald pulled down on the hammer of the gun with his thumb. "Now step inside the damn room!"

Sam sighed but complied quietly.

"Good," Oswald smiled.

After Sam headed inside, Oswald struck Al in the back with the butt of his gun to knock the older man down. He then marched into the room with his gun ready.

Sam stood on the opposite side of the room near a fireplace.

"Your pal's gonna take a nap but I didn't kill him," Oswald promised. "I'll just put a bullet in his head _after_ I'm done with you."

Sam only reached down for his gun in response. Oswald, however, was faster and shot at Sam.

Just barely, Sam rolled to the floor and fired back. Oswald, in turn, moved out of the way as the bullet from Sam's gun struck the wall next to him.

"I can tell this isn't your first gunfight," Oswald called out, taking cover behind one of the large chairs in the room. "But I can also tell you've never killed in cold blood before. Me? I killed Kennedy himself!"

At that point Oswald revealed himself and fired at Sam again who ducked underneath a table and then fired back. Oswald ducked down, avoiding the shot and then returning fire a split second later, hitting Sam in the arm with one of his bullets.

"Agh!" shouted Sam, falling down to the floor as his gun also dropped a few inches away from him.

Calmly, Lee Harvey Oswald walked over towards Sam and used his foot to kick the gun away.

"That warlock's time staff intrigues me," Oswald voiced his thoughts openly. "I think I'll take it once I put a bullet through his head and go back in time to make sure the revolution of the proletariat succeeds."

With that, he kicked Sam's wounded arm, causing the quantum physicist to cry out in pain and fall down.

"As for you, you can just die," Oswald grinned.

He pointed his gun at Sam's chest.

"LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!" Oswald shouted triumphantly.

A powerful gunshot rang out. As soon as Sam opened his eyes, he felt no pain in his chest and quickly realized he had not been the one who was shot.

He looked up, seeing blood trickle down from a bullet hole in Oswald's forehead. The assassin's mouth twitched in horror as he dropped to both knees.

"Long live this, dirtbag," Al stood there behind Oswald with a gun that had smoke brimming from it.

In relief, Sam realized that Al had regained consciousness and taken hold of the gun that Oswald had kicked away.

"Thanks Al," Sam breathed a sigh of relief. "You've saved my life this many times. Believe it or not, I owe you too."

"What are friends for?" Al helped Sam up. "Now let's go. It ain't over 'till it's over."

Sam looked down and saw the hourglass he had placed on the floor when he had entered the room. Reaching down, he grabbed hold of it. As soon as he did, a soothing blue aura surrounded his body, re-enacting the same sort of feeling he experienced during leaps. However, he was not transported to another era.

This time, Sam looked at his arm and realized the bullet wound inflicted upon him by Lee Harvey Oswald had completely healed up.

"Wow, thanks Ziggy," Sam beamed.

"You are ever so welcome, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy's voice emerged from the hourglass.

"You ready Sam?" Al asked.

Sam nodded in the affirmative. He then noticed a medieval sword hanging on the wall. The quantum physicist grabbed it and took it off the plaque that it was hanging from.

"Now I'm ready," Sam confirmed. "You keep the gun. I'll handle myself fine with this."

"Err, Sam, do you even know how to use that thing?" Al asked uncertainly. "Martial arts expert was always on your resume to begin with but I don't recall you ever telling me fencing was another one of your talents."

"I'm a faster learner," Sam winked. "I'll be fine, Al."

"You're the boss," Al consented.

Sam clutched the sword tightly and left the room but Al lingered behind a little bit longer.

The project observer looked down at the body of Lee Harvey Oswald briefly and contemplatively.

"Well whaddya know," Al said with a hint of introspection and irony to his voice. "Turns out I shot Lee Harvey Oswald…"

oooo

Sammy Jo sat in the van in a faraway distance while monitoring Sam and Al. A few moments ago there had been some sort of firefight and she wasn't sure what had transpired.

"Sam, do you read me?" she asked.

"Loud and clear," Dr. Beckett's voice came back.

"What just happened over there?" Sammy Jo asked. "I heard gunfire!"

"We had a little encounter with Lee Harvey Oswald," Al replied before Sam could.

"Oswald…" Sammy Jo's face contorted in disbelief. "Wait… you mean THE Lee Harvey Oswald? JFK's killer?!"

"Yeah, it was him," Sam confirmed.

"But… how?" Sammy Jo was in shock. "Why?"

"It's… a long story," Sam replied wearily.

"This is a lot to take in," Sammy Jo confessed. "Hang on for a second, let me go check up on Wikipedia for a second just to make sure our timeline hasn't collapsed from an assassin from the sixties making his way to our time…"

After having satisfactorily checked up the information on the internet, Sammy Jo turned her attention back to Sam and Al.

"Okay, it still says Oswald killed JFK and was killed by Jack Ruby," Sammy Jo affirmed. "Nothing to worry about so far… but how in the world did an assassin like him appear in our era?"

"We're not sure," Al replied. "But we'll worry about that later once we've put a stop to that warlock. In any case, Sam and I are following the stairway that leads to the top of the tower."

"Just to let you know, there's a massive flux of quantum energy at the top of the tower," Sammy Jo warned them. "I have no doubt it's from that big wormhole in the sky."

"Tell me about it," Al sighed.

"Then you're not going to like what I have to tell you," Sammy Jo grimaced. "That wormhole's energy signatures are growing stronger and stronger. Soon, it'll be powerful enough to suck in everything around it like a black hole."

"How do we stop it?" asked Sam.

"I… I don't know," Sammy Jo admitted. "I've never dealt with anything like this before!"

"Al and I will do whatever we can," Sam told her through his com-link. "In the meantime, Sammy Jo, stay safe."

"Alright," Sammy Jo agreed. "And good luck, Dr. Beckett."

oooo

It had taken then more than a few minutes but finally, Sam and Al had reached the top of the tower.

It was a large spacious area, about the same size as a high school gym. All around them were standing stones similar to what was at Stonehenge. Further away from the stones were a set of stairs that led directly to a throne.

On top of that throne was Kairos himself.

"It's him," Sam stepped forward.

"Dr. Samuel Beckett," Kairos stood up from his throne.

Whatever you have planned, it's over," insisted Sam, holding up his sword.

"Is it, now?" Kairos stepped down from the staircase, walking slowly and deliberately.

All around them, the wind began to howl and the air around them seemed to be travelling upwards as both Sam and Al noticed several leaves travelling upwards directly into the time portal that Kairos had created.

"It is beginning," Kairos told them. "The pull of this time portal is growing stronger. Soon, once it reaches maximum power, I shall be able to enter it and reach the very beginning of time itself!"

"And what happens when it reaches maximum power?" Al grimaced.

"This castle, the land around you, all the people…" explained Kairos. "All will be consumed by the ever-growing time nexus!"

"That… does not sound good," Sam whispered to Al.

"Yeah, and Sammy Jo, Tina, Gooshie, and all the others aren't far from here," Al had a concerned look on his face.

"Once I reach time's beginning, I shall remake this world in mine own image," Kairos promised, raising a bony finger.

"We're not going to let that happen," Sam pointed the sword at Kairos.

"Thou holds on to that sword as a man who has never held a blade in his life," Kairos said mockingly.

"You're right," Sam smiled. "I'm talented in a lot of things but swordfighting isn't one of them. But you know what? That doesn't matter now. Because there's a first time for everything and I'm not letting you carry out your crazy plans no matter what."

The time staff in Kairos' hand glowed with power as he finally walked down from the stairs and stood on even ground with Sam and Al.

Looking at Al, Kairos noticed that he was holding the hourglass in his hands.

"The hourglass!" Kairos spoke up in surprise. "I must have it!"

"Yeah, but you're not getting past me," Sam promised. "You've gotten this far with your powers and truth be told, you could probably reduce my friend and I to ashes right now if you wanted. But even if you win, just know that without your magic to help you, you're absolutely nothing."

Kairos gritted his teeth. Sam noticed it and realized that he had hit a sore spot in the time mage's pride.

"Am I?" Kairos growled.

"I wasn't lying," Sam continued to taunt the warlock. "Kill us both now with a magic spell if you want. But deep down, you know you can't fight me man to man."

"Thou wishes for physical combat?" Kairos finally relented. "Very well. But just know that should I be triumphant over thee, the mystical hourglass shall return to mine own possession."

"Got yourself a deal," Sam grinned.

"Is this a good idea, Sam?" Al asked him from behind.

"I don't know," Sam whispered back. "But I'll fight him and stall him for time. Just stay back on this one, Al."

"A-Alright," Al agreed reluctantly as he stepped back.

Kairos gripped his time staff in a combat stance.

"Shall we?" Sam beckoned.

"Raagh!" Kairos shouted ferociously and charged.

Sam raised his sword to block the initial strike as Kairos brought the time staff downwards.

As Kairos raised his staff back again, Sam struck back and kicked Kairos square in the chest to send him stumbling back.

"Thou art not weak," Kairos complimented.

Sam attacked this time but Kairos blocked his sword swing with the staff and used the other end of the staff to strike Sam across the face.

Again and again, Kairos struck Sam across the face and chest. Finally he spun his staff around and rammed it into Sam's stomach to knock the leaper down.

"Ugh!" Sam cried as his back hit the floor.

"Know this, Sam Beckett," Kairos pointed his time staff towards Sam. "One does not merely survive the era known to your posterity as the Dark Ages by being weak or soft!"

The time mage brought his staff down where Sam's head was but Sam Beckett quickly rolled out of the way.

oooo

"Sam?" Sammy Jo spoke into her mic. "Al? Is anyone there?"

She had heard sounds of fighting through the hearing devices both Sam and Al possessed but she couldn't directly see what was going on. All she knew was that something was going down right at this very moment.

"Sammy Jo!" Al's voice broke through.

"Al, what's going on over there?" she asked.

"Is Sam alright?" Gooshie asked.

By now, he, Tina, and Dr. Beeks were back with Sammy Jo in their van.

"No, everything's not alright, not at the moment," Al answered in a worried voice.

"Did something happen to Sam?" Tina demanded.

"He's still kicking," Al replied tersely. "But that could change any second. Listen, I want all of you to take that van and drive as far from here as possible!"

"But we're not leaving without you and Sam!" Dr. Beeks protested.

"Oh yes you are!" Al shot back. "You all saw that giant portal hovering above the castle! Soon it'll get big and strong enough to suck up everything in sight!"

"He… he's right," Sammy Jo scanned the energy readings on her computer. "The gravitational pull from that portal is growing stronger."

At that moment, a powerful gust of wind hit the van, shaking it enough that everyone there got the message.

"Just drive as far away from this area while you still can!" Al ordered. "Sam and I will take care of this!"

"But we won't leave without you!" Sammy Jo protested.

"And you won't!" Al told her. "Sam and I are a team! We're completed every mission and gotten this far with nothing but our wits and good looks! We'll be fine… now go!"

"A-Alright," Sammy Jo said reluctantly.

"I'll take the wheel," Gooshie went to the front.

Against the strong winds, the van drove off, far away from the castle.

oooo

Sam blocked two staff blows from Kairos and returned with a swing which the warlock side-stepped. Kairos swung his time staff upwards, knocking the sword out of Sam's hand.

Kairos spun his staff around and drove it into Sam's stomach, knocking the breath out of him. With Sam severely weakened, Kairos swung yet again at Sam's legs and knocked him on his back.

Dr. Beckett got back up, crawling first on both knees. As he got up, however, Kairos was behind him, wrapping the staff around his neck and pulling back, intending to choke the life out of the leaper. Quickly, Sam got both his hands beneath the staff to prevent Kairos from locking on a full choke.

"Thou started Project Quantum Leap in order to make right what once went wrong," Kairos growled. "And yet thou hast not even gone back to mine own time to save the family I had!"

"This is what it's about?" Sam struggled against the inhumanly strong grip of Kairos. "You idiot… Project Quantum Leap could only leap me around the time era I was born into!"

With that, Sam slammed his elbow into the ribs of Kairos. The warlock grunted in pain and loosened his grip.

Sam then kicked Kairos in the stomach to send the warlock stumbling back.

In anger, Kairos charged Sam and swung at the leaper with his staff. Sam, however, caught the time mage's staff as the two struggled against each other with both hands on the weapon.

Falling backwards, Sam shifted his momentum and took Kairos down with him. He planted both feet into the stomach of Kairos and flipped the time mage over, slamming his back into the ground and knocking the air out of him.

As Kairos got up, Sam planted a fierce roundhouse kick into the head of the time mage and knocked him down yet again.

Sam went over to his sword and picked it up. As he walked towards, Kairos, however, the time mage finally let loose a blast of concentrated energy from his time staff that knocked the sword out of Sam Beckett's hands.

"That's cheating, you low down dirty rat!" yelled Al.

Kairos opened fire again. This time, the energy blast from the time staff struck Sam Beckett, forcing the man to his knees.

"Aaaaahhh!" screamed Sam.

"The hourglass… hand it to me!" Kairos beckoned to Al with one hand while torturing Sam with the time staff in the other.

"Okay!" Al shouted. "Just stop what you're doing!"

Kairos stopped his torture of Sam and beckoned to Al once more with his hand.

"You win," Al stepped forward with the hourglass. "Just take it."

Underneath his hood, Kairos smiled. He took the hourglass from Al and walked away from the leaper and his observer.

"Don't fail us now, Ziggy," Al whispered.

Step by step, he ascended the stairs until he stood on top his throne room. He then looked down upon both Sam and Al.

"Begone!" he shouted.

He opened fire upon the two with another energy blast from the time staff. Fortunately for Sam, this time Al grabbed him and pulled the both of them to safety behind one of the standing stones as the energy blast missed them narrowly.

"Al," Sam slowly shook his head to clear the cobwebs.

"All we can do now is count on Ziggy to do the rest," Al helped Sam up.

"At long last!" Kairos proclaimed, taking hold of the hourglass and placing it on top of the time staff once more. "Mastery over time and space shall finally be within mine own grasp!"

He thrust the staff into the air as a massive burst of quantum energy erupted from the hourglass and empowered the time portal above all of them. With each successive burst of quantum energy, the time nexus grew bigger and bigger.

"Yes… yes!" screamed Kairos.

"Warning, foreign agent detected," Ziggy's voice immediately spoke out. "Running antibody purge of Lothos now!"

"What?!" Kairos stared at the hourglass mounted on top of his time staff.

"Sammy Jo, you are a genius," Al whispered.

Though both the hourglass and time staff were mystical objects, there was still the matter of both of them being fused together with man-made machines. Ziggy had been bonded with the hourglass while Lothos had been fused together with the staff. No matter how much magic had been infused with both of them, the fact remained that Ziggy still had fail-safes installed for the event an invasive program like Lothos attempted another takeover.

Slowly, hourglass began to shake violently, attempting to detach itself from the staff.

"No!" Kairos cried. "This shall not—"

Before he could do anything, both the hourglass and time staff burst apart from each other with a violent explosion of energy that knocked Kairos back into his throne chair.

"Thank you, Sammy Jo," Sam came out of hiding and went up the stairs to face the shaken Kairos.

Sam finally reached the very top of the throne room and grabbed the weakened Kairos, lifting him up by the collar.

"You and I have some unfinished business," Sam declared.

With that, he punched the time mage with hard right punch, sending Kairos falling down the stairs.

Kairos shook his head in pain, attempting to shake off the blow but Sam had reached him before he could do anything to recover.

Again and again, Sam drove his fist into Kairos, punching the time mage across the face multiple times. Finally, he drove his fist into the stomach of the time mage, causing Kairos to spit out a combination of both blood and salive.

"Agh!" coughed Kairos.

Sam spun around and caught the wizard across the head with a crushing spin kick that finally knocked Kairos to the floor.

"Is he finished?" Al came up besides Sam, handing the leaper his gun.

Kairos got up. Both Sam and Al realized that his hood was now gone.

Before them stood a grotesque shell of a man with pale putrid skin and lizard-like eyes. He sported a face that had been ravaged and transformed into something monstrous through years of practicing dark magic.

The time mage hissed at having realized his hideous visage had finally been exposed.

"It's over," Sam told him, pointing the gun at the time mage.

Kairos growled, but then realized that the time staff which had been flung from him was now just a few inches away from him.

"Is it?" he smiled.

The hideous and time-ravaged man rolled forward, grabbing the time staff, regaining the formidable time magic that he was known for. He raised the staff and fired a shot at Sam.

Al, however, pushed Sam aside and took the full force of the blast. The older man was thrown into one of the standing stones from the force of the shot.

"Al!" screamed Sam.

Sam rushed towards his friend but Kairos was upon him in an instant, wrapping his arms around Sam's neck. Quickly, Kairos used his free arm and took the same knife he had used to murder his sister out and tried to stab it down into Sam's chest. Sam, however, blocked the knife with his free hand as well, struggling against Kairos.

"Sam Beckett, thy time has come!" Kairos snarled.

Finally, Sam managed to slip out of the grip of Kairos and used his right hand to ram the knife of Kairos right into the time mage's own heart.

With that, Sam punched Kairos directly in the face and knocked the warlock onto the floor.

Seeing the time staff on the floor, Sam picked it up.

"This is the source of your power?" Sam held it in the air. "Well no more!"

The leaper brought down the staff and kneed it, shattering the mystical weapon into two and dispersing its energy into the air.

"No!" Kairos gasped.

With the knife now in his own heart, Kairos struggled to get back up but could not. And without his time staff to heal his wounds, he was now a mortal once more.

"It's over," Sam told him resolutely.

"Destiny… this close…" Kairos stretched out his hands, coughing up blood as he did.

Finally, his hand dropped to the floor and the time mage's body twitched a bit more before he finally stopped moving.

Sam took a deep breath and left the corpse of Kairos to help his friend Al, picking up Ziggy as he did.

"Al, are you okay?" Sam asked.

"He hit me with a real zinger," Al coughed. "But I think I can make it."

Sam helped Al to his feet just as the castle began to shake.

"Uh oh," Al looked up.

Up in the sky, the time vortex grew bigger and bigger. This time, trees, grass, and rocks were uplifted from the ground and sucked into the massive portal, which was ever-growing in power.

Sam leaned against one of the standing stones and held on, preventing both himself and Al from being sucked up into the vortex. All around them, everything from the land was being sucked in and not just trees, but also cars, cows, the security personnel who worked under Project Chronos, and the stones from the tower. As Al looked up, he even saw the body of Lee Harvey Oswald flying through the air and finally disappearing into the massive vortex in the sky.

Soon, the body of Kairos floated up in the air from the gravitational pull. The body of the time mage, too, disappeared into the vortex.

"It's too late!" Al shouted.

"No," Sam shook his head. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

He held the hourglass in his hands.

"Ziggy, think you got what it takes for one more hurrah?" he asked.

"Without question, Dr. Beckett," Ziggy agreed.

Sam held on to Ziggy tight as the blue leaper's aura surrounded him. Rather than leap, however, he walked into the eye of the hurricane itself.

"Don't fail me now, Ziggy!" Sam cried.

He raised Ziggy into the air. The hourglass unleashed a massive surge of energy into the air, striking dead center into the time vortex. Slowly, the portal began to weaken, growing smaller and smaller, its quantum energies having been counteracted and negated by Ziggy and the hourglass. Finally, it disappeared completely and the hourglass in Sam's hand finally stopped glowing.

Sam stopped and sank to both knees as the leaper's aura nearly consumed him.

"Sam!" Al rushed forward.

The next thing he knew, the blinding light around Sam disappeared and Sam reappeared once more in white robes, holding the hourglass in his hands.

"Sam, is that you?" Al gasped. "What just happened?"

"I… I understand now," Sam looked down at his new clothes.

From head to toe, Sam Beckett was practically radiant with light.

"Understand what?" Al looked at him in confusion.

"Al," Sam faced his friend. "I think I've just made a leap into destiny itself."

"It's the life he's chosen," Bartender Al appeared from behind one of the stones.

"You!" Al Calavicci was taken aback. "Where'd you come from?"

"I get around," Bartender Al smiled.

"Listen, uh, I want to apologize for how I behaved back at that pub," Al Calavicci said to the bartender. "I had no idea that the one leap Sam made back then was a leap for me."

"It's alright," Bartender Al replied kindly. "You were only concerned for Sam. You had every right to be angry for his sake."

"So what just happened to Sam?" Al Calavicci asked. "Did he become a time mage? Did he die and become an angel? Did he transform into Father Time itself or something?"

"Something," Bartender Al agreed cryptically.

"I'm beginning to see everything more clearly now," Sam told the bartender.

"Sam, back in the old mining town, you discovered that you were the one who truly wanted to continue leaping to make a difference in the lives of others," Bartender Al said to him. "Right now, you've arrived at another crossroads. Is this the life you want to lead?"

"I think we both know the answer to that," Sam smiled.

Al swallowed, realizing that this was indeed the life Sam had chosen for himself. And now, with his wife gone and Sammy Jo already grown into a strong, independent adult woman, there was little to anchor him back into his old life. And not only that, but Sam had even put to rest Al's unfinished business with Beth and enabled him to get back together with the woman he loved.

In every sense, Sam had come full circle with his life in the present.

"Sam…" Al approached his friend. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Sam smiled.

The two of them embraced each other.

"I wish you'd come back to us, but if this really is your calling… don't let me hold you back," Al said with a tear in his eye.

Quickly, he wiped it away.

"Excuse me," Al sniffed. "Got some wind in my eyes…"

"It's okay Al," Sam hugged him once more. "I wouldn't have made it this far without you, Al. You're the best friend I've ever had."

"The feeling's mutual, Sam," Al patted Sam on the back.

"It's funny," Sam looked up. "I took my first leap to prove my theory correct. Then I leaped around in time because I thought I was trying to make it home. And now I realize that this is my life. This is what I was meant to do. To make right what once went wrong."

"I guess this is goodbye then," Al wiped away some more tears.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be alright," Sam assured him. "Go back to Beth and your daughters. They're all waiting for you."

"Then… I guess this is finally the end of Project Quantum Leap," Al looked down.

"No," Sam smiled. "This is just the beginning."

Sam raised his hourglass, now bonded with Ziggy, into the air and a bright white light enveloped all of them.

oooo

Al opened his eyes once more. He was no longer in England on the castle which housed Project Chronos.

He was, now, back in Project Quantum Leap's headquarters in New Mexico. And so were Sammy Jo, Tina, Gooshie, and Dr. Beeks.

"If I may be so blunt, what in the Sam Hill just happened?" Dr. Beeks looked at her surroundings.

"One minute we're in England and now we're back here," Tina looked at her own hands. "It makes no sense."

"Al, you were with Sam," Gooshie went up to the observer. "What just happened?"

"It was Sam," Al told them. "He leaped us all back."

"Where is Sam?" demanded Gooshie.

"He's… it's complicated," admitted Al.

"Wait, he isn't… dead, is he?" Tina looked worried.

"No, far from it," Al told all of them. "Look, I know this is going to be hard to believe but… Sam has gone to a better place, and I'm not talking about the grave."

Everybody from Project Quantum Leap could only look at Al, unsure of what to make of his remarks.

"As strange as it sounds, you don't have to worry one bit about Sam," Al informed all of them.

oooo

Before long, everybody at Project Quantum Leap had wrapped up their work for the day and headed home.

Sammy Jo Fuller, however, lingered on for a bit longer to talk with Al.

"So what really happened to Sam?" she asked.

"Sam went on to a better place," Al told her. "Let's just say he's like a guardian angel now."

"Wait, so he did die?" Sammy Jo was shocked.

"No, no, it didn't happen like that," Al corrected her. "Let's just say that Sam found out he had a higher calling."

"Did he… get sent back into time again?" she inquired.

"You could say that," Al answered.

"Are we ever going to see him again?"

"I don't know the answer to that, Sammy Jo. But what I do know is that no matter what, the memory of Sam is going to live on… in our memories and most importantly, in our hearts."

"Well, wherever he is," Sammy Jo sighed wistfully, "I hope Dr. Beckett has found happiness."

"He is," Al put a hand on Sammy Jo's shoulder. "And he'd want for you to be very happy as well."

oooo

"Al!" Beth Calavicci cried as her husband's car finally pulled up in front of their garage.

Beth ran over to Al and embraced him as their three daughters stood by the door.

"You were gone for days," Beth hugged Al tightly. "I was afraid you wouldn't come back… a second time."

"You were always at the center of my mind," Al assured her. "I had to help my friend Sam get done with some very important work overseas. And now that that's over, I plan on staying with my family for as long as I live!"

"It's good to have you back, Al," Beth caressed his head.

"It's good to finally be back, honey," Al kissed his wife.

"Daddy!" his oldest daughter ran up to him as the other two followed.

"And I missed you too, pumpkin!" Al knelt down and hugged his daughters.

"Daddy, what did you do overseas with Sam?" his youngest daughter asked.

"Let me tell you, it was the adventure of a lifetime," Al explained. "And you know what, if you girls eat your veggies tonight, I'll tell it all to you before bedtime!"

"Speaking of which, dinner's ready," Beth told him. "Let's go inside."

From out of the corner of his eye, Al saw a man in the distance. It was a radiant man in white robes who carried an hourglass in his arms.

"I'll be right with you," Al kissed Beth. "Why don't all of you head inside first? I'll catch up soon."

After Beth and his daughters went back into the house, Al turned back towards Sam in the distance.

"I love you, Sam," Al said to his friend. "And thank you."

Sam only smiled and tipped his head to Al. In turn, Al smiled back and waved.

"Al, are you coming?" Beth called out.

Al was distracted momentarily and as he looked up again, he realized Sam was no longer there.

"Coming dear," Al opened the door and headed inside.

Wistfully, Al took one last look outside.

"Goodbye Sam," Al whispered, heading back inside to greet his family once more.

In the distance, Sam finally turned around from Al's house and began walking down the road as the sun began to set. Step by step, he walked calmly as a blue aura surrounded him once more.

Finally, he vanished in a flash of blue light, having transcended the limitations of this life and having embraced his destiny once more of making right what once went wrong.

_Fin. _


End file.
